The island has a working lighthouse and five-room inn.
The East Brother Light Station is on a small island off Point Molate in the strait between San Francisco and San Pablo bays in Richmond, California — and they're looking for an innkeeper. The property consists of a lighthouse built in 1874, a five-room inn that serves dinner and breakfast to guests, and a three-bedroom cottage used as the living accommodations for the innkeepers.
The listing states that East Brother Light Station, Inc's ideal candidates for this job would be a couple. They would manage the inn, while volunteers continue to help maintain the lighthouse and grounds.
"It's one of these jobs where people say, 'I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the opportunity to do this, but I would never do it again.' It's really hard work, but it's very rewarding," Tom Butt, former mayor of Richmond and the president of the nonprofit, tells CNBC Make It.
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At least one of the applicants in the couple must have a Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Credential boat operator's license to ferry guests to and from the island.
Butt says the Coast Guard license is an absolute requirement and a non-negotiable. Candidates should have hospitality experience and, according to the job posting, high-quality culinary experience and maid services for inn guests are also required.
"We're looking for somebody that can work well with us [the nonprofit] and work with the public well and really want to do this," Butt says.
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The inn is open four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, and is available for day rentals and special occasions.
The island doesn't have a wired phone, internet, or water pressure. Neither of the applicants is allowed to be a smoker, the job posting states.
The East Brother Light Station is looking for the new keepers to start in April 2025, but two weeks of training would start right away.
The application opened in December and will remain open until the nonprofit finds its innkeepers.
Butt says the innkeepers are paid by sharing the revenue from the inn with the East Brother Light Station nonprofit, and can keep whatever tips they get on the job. A health plan and living quarters are included in the compensation package.
In the last fiscal year, from June 2023 to June 2024, the total revenue was around $381,000, and the innkeeper's salary was close to $139,000.
Butt adds that most of the previous innkeepers have come from places outside of California. "We don't care where they come from as long as they're the right people," he says.
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