Are you in a happy, healthy relationship? Do you hate having cell service? Prefer being in relative solitude? Are you a good cook? Do you love being in the literal bay?
It’s a lot of questions at once, but all are relevant for applicants who want in on a once-every-two-years job opening at East Brother Light Station, which houses a teeny 1874 lighthouse-turned-bed-and-breakfast on an island in the San Francisco Bay.
The East Brother Light Station is hiring for two innkeepers with a laundry list of responsibilities, including maintaining and operating the five-room inn, making and serving up breakfast and dinner, and ferrying guests back and forth. The job application, overseen by the city of Richmond, makes clear that “couples,” however you wish to define that, will receive top consideration. The reason? This is a two-year stint, beginning in April 2023, where you’ll be spending lots of time together. At least one of the two people must have a valid US Coast Guard boat operator’s license. Applicants with children or pets are usually disqualified too.
In 2019, Richmond Mayor Tom Butt — he of the deflated Butt dynasty — told SFGATE that the biannual innkeeper opening garnered “thousands of inquires or applications from dozens of countries, many in languages I can’t even read.” East Brother is a California Historical Landmark, and compensation for innkeepers is based on how well the business does. The prior innkeepers’ combined gross pay was $140,000, according to Butt’s most recent job listing, plus $10,000 for health insurance.
The East Brother Light Station has impeccable reviews on Yelp, a result of prior innkeepers’ hard work. The East Bay Times reported that a previous duo worked 80 to 90 hours a week in their best estimation and that the island doesn’t have Wi-Fi, “reliable” cell service or plumbing. In April 2021, the lighthouse lost electrical power, which led to a GoFundMe and a temporary fix.
Still interested in the job? You can apply here.
