Strong Mountain Media CEO Laurie Monteforte said the restoration of the Historic Hotel Bethlehem after a shutdown in the 90s helped usher in a renaissance for the downtown neighborhood. She described the process and group effort involved with winning these nationwide polls.

“USAToday has a team of travel journalist experts who select the initial 20 candidates based on their personal experiences. Then, they put it up for a public vote to choose the top 10. The entire Bethlehem community rallied to vote. The hotel, Downtown Bethlehem Association, Discover Lehigh Valley and other organizations/businesses put out social media posts, newsletters and even old-fashioned postcards to get out the vote. We issued multiple press releases in support of the initiative as well.”

Monteforte said the hotel has worked with Strong Mountain to coordinate media visits with travel reporters and editors so they could experience the magic of Bethlehem firsthand, and actively pitched travel stories featuring Bethlehem to journalists across the country, including USA Today experts. This earned placements in outlets like Oprah Mag, Travel + Leisure, CNN, Hallmark, and many, many more. “They all helped raise the city’s profile. The result will help the city appear in searches for people looking for great Main Streets and historic towns. It’s been a real privilege to help the entire country see all the things amazing the locals appreciate about their beloved Christmas City.”