Small Town, Big Dreams: Jesse Baker on Expanding JET Hospitality’s Unique Retreats

Since our last conversation, Jesse’s been hard at work restoring unique properties across Washington and beyond, bringing a mix of rustic charm and modern convenience to places you might never expect. From fixing up a yacht that doubles as an office to building bridges—literally—at his Pacific Dunes property, Jesse shares how he’s redefining what hospitality can look like.

To kick things off, Jesse updates us on his famous yacht, which he uses as a floating office. After a complete restoration, it’s still going strong, and I even took a trip to Poulsboo for some relaxation. As Jesse says, it’s a labor of love—a new engine, a rebuilt transom, and the whole deal. It’s clear that for him, hospitality isn’t just about running hotels or lodges. It’s about creating experiences; sometimes, that means turning a boat into your workspace!

What’s Happening at Pacific Dunes?

Scott’s questions about Jesse’s Pacific Dunes property, and Jesse is more than happy to give us the scoop. They’ve been adding to the “vintage vibe” of the place with a new coffee shop, a gift shop, and even a beer garden. Plus, there’s that bridge Scott had to ask about. It’s not just a metaphor—Jesse and his team really built a bridge to give guests easy access to the beachfront. Instead of a long walk, it’s a quick 5-minute stroll to get your toes in the sand.

Details like these make Pacific Dunes more than just a place to stay. Jesse’s vision for the property is all about offering guests more than just a room—it’s about giving them an unforgettable experience. Whether sipping coffee at the new shop or enjoying a local beer in the garden, it’s clear that Pacific Dunes is becoming a destination in its own right.

The Rise of Tiny Homes and Glamping

But it’s not just about yachts and bridges. Jesse’s been hard at work expanding the accommodations at Pacific Dunes, too. They’ve added tiny homes, glamping tents, and more RV stalls, making it the perfect spot for group events like weddings. And it’s not just about sleeping under the stars—guests can rent out an entire “glamping village,” combining the best of both worlds: the comfort of private lodging with the charm of an outdoor adventure

Growing Beyond Washington State

Hearing about JET Hospitality‘s growth is one of the most exciting parts of the conversation. Jesse shares that they’ve expanded beyond Washington into states like Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho, with 10 locations across five states. But don’t worry, Washington State still holds a special place in Jesse’s heart, and he hints that there are always new projects on the horizon in the Evergreen State.

Jesse’s passion for restoring and revitalizing old properties is contagious. Whether he’s turning a forgotten motor inn into a boutique roadside stop or transforming a historic haunted hotel in Wyoming, he’s all about preserving history while giving it a modern twist. His latest purchase, the Virginian Hotel, comes with a rich history—and a few friendly ghosts, according to Jesse!

What’s Next for JET Hospitality?

So, what’s next for Jesse and his team? Plenty. JET Hospitality is diving into new territory with its “motor inn” concept, refreshing old roadside motels and adding modern touches like electric vehicle charging stations and on-site coffee trucks. The idea is to compete with major hotel brands while offering something that feels more personal and unique. Jesse says they’re not afraid to tackle projects others might shy away from, making JET Hospitality’s portfolio so exciting.

Jesse Baker Jet Hospitality Episode Transcript

Hello, friends, and welcome to the Exploring Washington State podcast. My name is Scott Cowan, and I’m the host of the show. Each episode, I have a conversation with an interesting guest who is living in or from Washington State. These are casual conversations with real and interesting people. I think you’re gonna like the show. So let’s jump right in with today’s guest. Hey. So I’m sitting here with Jesse Baker.

Scott Cowan [00:00:27]:

Well, actually, I’m sitting here and he’s sitting there, but you guys know the drill that I’m sitting here talking to Jesse. Jesse’s, with JED Hospitality. They were on before. I have a bunch of questions about our last conversation, Jesse, but to explain, and we’re going to flip the script. You’re drinking coffee in a coffee shop right now, which is the background noise. What are you drinking, and where are you?

Jesse Baker [00:00:49]:

Man, I’ve gotta give a shout out to my local Starbucks here, 6 in Michigan in Georgetown down here in Seattle. Yeah. You know, Jet City Jet City Right.

Scott Cowan [00:00:59]:

Right. Alright. Okay. Well, what are you drinking today? If it’s pumpkin spice, this interview’s over. Just warning you.

Jesse Baker [00:01:05]:

No. You know, I’m a cold brew guy. And, you know, I I’ve got a lot of people who give me flack for Starbucks too, but, you know, they’ve got a refill program where I probably get 3 or 4 or 5 of these cold brews with my little number scan. So it’s like a buck a buck a buck a buck a buck

Scott Cowan [00:01:22]:

a buck

Jesse Baker [00:01:22]:

a buck.

Scott Cowan [00:01:22]:

Okay. No thirst. And I tell you what, their their nitrile cold brew with sweet cream, That’s, I’ll I’ll drink.

Jesse Baker [00:01:29]:

So shout out, Nick.

Scott Cowan [00:01:31]:

There we go. Yes. All right. So Jesse, what’s I I’ve got some questions from our last conversation. Not that you’re gonna remember them, but let’s go. So last time you guys were still restoring a yacht, and you had mentioned it wasn’t being used as an Airbnb, but it was your floating office. What’s going on with the yacht?

Jesse Baker [00:01:54]:

Well, Scott, I’m glad you asked. That’s yeah. That is where it all started. The yacht’s still floating. I can say that. We, we put no. We fully restored it, you know, and we took it out a few times this year. Finally, did a trip over to Holesboe.

Jesse Baker [00:02:10]:

So that was nice. Got a 2 dayer over there and stayed overnight. You know, we what we did is ended up dropping a new engine into it, rebuilt the transom, the stem, and did a whole a whole whole makeover. So now now it’s in good shape, and I keep it in,

Scott Cowan [00:02:29]:

South Lake. Okay. So that was the first question. We also talked about Pacific Dunes last time because that’s where it kinda started for you guys. And there was this mention of a bridge and a bridge sounded awfully grandiose to me. So I wanted to like broach that topic. But before we hit record, you mentioned you guys built the bridge. So let’s talk about Pacific Dunes.

Scott Cowan [00:02:52]:

What’s happened in the last couple years there? What have you been doing?

Jesse Baker [00:02:57]:

Yeah. Yeah. Well, we’ve really been, adding to the vintage of the property. Definitely, same vintage. We added a coffee shop, lobby, and gift shop really in the old clam building. So that was pretty, pretty nice achievement with little beer garden out there. We got our our, wine and beverage license now so guests can really, enjoy a a cold one. And then as far as, infrastructure, as you mentioned the bridge, we we just finished that out this spring.

Jesse Baker [00:03:28]:

So that was really, quite the project. And now we’ve got, you know, instant access out to to our own, beachfront. So it’s about a 5 minute walk instead of, you know, 10 or 15 before. So, man, we got to go.

Scott Cowan [00:03:44]:

That’s it sounds it sounds pretty good. In fact, earlier this morning, I I looked up the green lantern just to see what’s going on out there, and it looks like the green lantern’s under renovation. It’s like they they painted it. It doesn’t look the same.

Jesse Baker [00:03:59]:

Yeah. Well, you know, I’m, friendly with the Green Lantern myself. We we are the closest property to it, right down the street. Shout out. So, yeah. They’re they’re usually every other year, so they do a good job maintaining that property. And, so that’s a that’s a favorite. You know, whenever I meet someone, I’m just like, yeah.

Jesse Baker [00:04:23]:

You know Green Lantern? Everyone says yes. And then I go, yeah. We’re we’re the one next door. So it’s really easy to tell people how to get there.

Scott Cowan [00:04:31]:

So at at Columbia Point, how many how many guests can you accommodate now on a nightly basis?

Jesse Baker [00:04:37]:

Columbia Point. Oh, wait. I’ve You know I’ve

Scott Cowan [00:04:39]:

yeah. No. I’m sorry. Yes. Not Pacific Dunes, I bounce.

Jesse Baker [00:04:43]:

I’m in talking about

Scott Cowan [00:04:44]:

ring the wrong thing. Pacific Dunes, let’s stay there. How many how many guests can you accommodate now?

Jesse Baker [00:04:49]:

Yeah. Well, we’ve got, 20 RV stalls to start. You know, that’s a good basis. So call it 40 guests, 40 to 50 there. But our our lodging rev, we’ve got 5, 5 tiny homes, 5 motel units, and 6 point Wow. Pounds. So, you know, 16 times, 2 would be 32. Yeah.

Jesse Baker [00:05:11]:

So I’d say we’re around 75 guests, you know, for overnight, between the between the park and the lodging. Yeah. But we’re we’re starting to move towards, group events there too. We built a wedding pavilion area. So that is kind of our newer concepts are renting these tiny homes or the glamping as a village. And so it allows us to compete against, you know, larger lodge style homes where people wanna, you know, have 10 to 16 people. But it still gives people their own, walls between their, buddies. You know?

Scott Cowan [00:05:48]:

So, on our on our first episode, you were you were joking with the, called the original innkeeper, and you guys were sharing stories about, you know, septic lines and, you know, you’ve had some lovely challenges out there. Put me on the spot. What’s your favorite time of year to go out there?

Jesse Baker [00:06:13]:

It’s a good question. You know, I love it actually even in January or February to get the glamping tent when it’s nice and rainy and soggy out. But I’d have to say probably May, you know. May early June, everything is still so green, very lush and but warm. You know, it starts to warm up. So, yeah, I’d say May June before it dries out. Okay.

Scott Cowan [00:06:34]:

Alright. And and so you’re you’re you’re kind of focusing on this. Not I don’t wanna say focusing, but, like, weddings are now an opportunity there. So what sort of pavilion did you put in?

Jesse Baker [00:06:46]:

Yeah. It’s it’s a pergola style. It’s I would say it’s like a two sides and a center, you know, focus area kinda built over our path right down by the water. Typical, fits about 60 to 80, you know, on two sides of a path. Real easy. We did it in a nice way, though, where it kinda fit in, you know, we didn’t overdo it.

Scott Cowan [00:07:09]:

Okay. So it kind of it kind of fits in with the scenery and all of that. Alright. But I’m gonna break from my routine with you. And before we talk about the other two properties in Eastern Washington, since we last talked, how many properties have you guys how big is the portfolio now?

Jesse Baker [00:07:31]:

All the since we last talked, I think we’ve added a few states. Yeah. I think we have. We’re, we’re at 10 locations across Awesome. 5 states. And so so right now, I’m saying it’s, Wyoming to Washington. Kind of the Rocky Mountain corridor. So we’re in Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, and and Washington.

Scott Cowan [00:07:55]:

Let’s talk about those locations. Why are you picking those? Because of the I mean, because you guys have kind of this whole desire.

Jesse Baker [00:08:08]:

How do

Scott Cowan [00:08:08]:

I wanna describe this? Kind of like a passport system. Like, you want people to travel between the locations. And so why what’s the criteria to pick the next location?

Jesse Baker [00:08:21]:

That’s man, we gotta maybe bring it on the consultant team first. That’s, you know, what we’re doing right now, with our outdoor portfolio is we’re continuing to kinda follow the national park scene down in the Arizona Okay. And Mexico. That’s that’s easy. That’s easy for us. You know, as far as eastbound, I would say we’re heading out towards, Rapid City, the Black Hills. Now, I see that as kind of the entrance to the west. So those are where we’re pushing towards.

Jesse Baker [00:08:53]:

As far as the rest of the West Coast, we’ve we’ve kinda left, you know, California and Oregon out of play. But we like Nevada and, you know, just kinda carving out what we have. What else I can say is we’ve got this newer concept that’s, this motor and concept that’s kinda targeting the highways. So, like, I eighty, you know, and and the Lincoln Highway and these corridors where infrastructure is built out. It’s kind of an exciting, new thing for me to learn about all these, different government infrastructure projects that are built across the whole country, where there’s now a corridor housing needed. So the boutique roadside extended stay motel, that have long been forgotten, you’re seeing them get picked up here pretty pretty on the regular now.

Scott Cowan [00:09:44]:

So

Jesse Baker [00:09:44]:

So, yeah, that’s that’s a little bit about our future.

Scott Cowan [00:09:47]:

That’s that’s that’s very cool. I did see and I gotta look here, so warning. I’m switching a screen for a second. I I’ve got an article from April in the Carbon County comment. Now that’s a paper I’ve never heard of before, but the Virginian Hotel has new caring owners, and it’s it it’s you. What’s you bought a multi story hotel?

Jesse Baker [00:10:13]:

You know, the oldest, well, the first and oldest and best bar in Wyoming, included what it served, but, also, it’s used to be the largest between Denver and Salt Lake. A lot of business got done with the Virginia. So, yeah, we bought that from, the Scott family. It was quite an honor. Hotel has been owned by the Vernon Scott and his family for over a 100 years. So, almost, I would say, the whole town came out, and we had kind of a ceremony. And, they read in a real nice letter they wrote for us and couldn’t have been more welcomed. So, felt honored to be, talked about in that article, and and, you know, both Aaron and myself were, real real, lucky to be the owners of that hotel.

Scott Cowan [00:11:04]:

So how many rooms does this place have? What’s tell us more about this one.

Jesse Baker [00:11:07]:

The old yeah. So it’s the the acquisition included about, you know, 7 total buildings in town too. So it’s almost majority of the commercial property in Medicine Bow, Wyoming, which is a small town of about 250 people. Say it’s about 45 minutes west of Laramie. So it’s not too deep, but it’s, North Carbon County. And, the hotel itself has about 35 rooms total. You know, only 8 of them or so have their own bathroom. So it’s kinda set up in different, suite style or Mhmm.

Jesse Baker [00:11:44]:

Shared. So that’s exciting. You know, it’s a haunted hotel. So that’s kind of the first one we’ve acquired that way. A lot of, ghost history out there. So we’re learning about that, but they’re good spirits. They tell me. Yeah.

Jesse Baker [00:11:59]:

So, that’s that’s what I can say. I mean, it’s it’s a living, breathing museum. You’ve got the Owen Wester dining room there. And, of course, the Virginian has a whole, history of its own, this western series, and Owen Wester wrote the the book. And so really comes to life when you walk in a hotel. So for us, you know, we’ve moved towards more of the experiences and the adventure, side of the business, and this has given us kind of the, echo of ghost hunting in the wild west and kinda not to mention, they’ve pulled dinosaurs, T Rexes out, you know, just north of town. This is like the archeology capital of of the entire country. So I’m learning so much about this, at this hotel.

Jesse Baker [00:12:44]:

It’s crazy.

Scott Cowan [00:12:45]:

Pretty cool, man. That’s actually so you bought other commercial buildings, and you’re gonna have plans for those in the future, I guess. You know?

Jesse Baker [00:12:52]:

Yeah. That’s awesome. That’s right. That’s right. You know, I what I like to tell people is to think kind of like the pigments, you know, and we wanna we’ve got another 20, unit bunkhouse down there. We’ve got a 6,000 square foot old, garage shop that would become a music venue and kind of could become a brewery. We’ve got, the bank building, which which is currently split up in with some housing. But, you know, someday, I’d like to bring a bank back there.

Jesse Baker [00:13:21]:

You know, I’m no banker. And then, you know, the the other couple buildings we got out back include the, lawyer’s office, and right next door is the jail. So it’s really something. You know? Maybe we put a little speakeasy in the jail, or we could still lock the

Scott Cowan [00:13:39]:

lock down. Say if if a if a if a guest gets out of line, you you you you let them dry out in the jail overnight. You know? Alright.

Jesse Baker [00:13:48]:

Yep. Yep. So, hope to make, you know, we’re hosting our first murder mystery event out there, November 1st through 3rd. So we’re gonna really try to make that place quite the experience.

Scott Cowan [00:14:00]:

Now the only thing I could think would be better is if you did this in Washington state, but we’ll give you a chance. You’ll figure it out. Yeah. You’ll figure it out. So let’s let’s jump to Columbia Point. Let’s reel it back into Washington. What’s happening out at Columbia Point?

Jesse Baker [00:14:16]:

Yeah. Good. Good. I’m glad you did. Good time for us out there. Mark and Amanda are our endkeepers. I’ve gotta give them a shout out. They’ve fully developed this ag venture concept.

Jesse Baker [00:14:27]:

We we’re at harvest. You know? All the the plants and and, the crops have come to life, and and so we’ve really prided ourselves on, having a full immersive guest experience out there where, you know, our guests are walking out, getting fresh eggs, picking tomatoes, grabbing their herbs for their steak, and, it’s all obviously complimentary. But, now that’s winding down, and, you know, we’re got the unfit pumpkin patch harvest, kinda Halloween thing going on. Gonna get the hay bales out, and I don’t know. But, you know, we’ve done really well out there, and great community. Cuddles Falls, Washington. And I would say that whole valley has just been real happy, and we couldn’t have done it without those, dedicated in people. They’ve been there 3 years now, and so I wanted to thank them.

Jesse Baker [00:15:20]:

And and yeah, man. We well, I think we told you about Lazy Lake next door, though, too. So that property got up and running and, you know, has become our extended stay. Really, it’s a 4 bedroom, 3 bath house with 6 RVs. So we that’s like the venue. If you want the family reunion or you want the grad party, and it’s right down on the lake. So got that got that market covered, and and Lake Roosevelt’s just beautiful. I recommend anyone get up there.

Scott Cowan [00:15:52]:

No. It’s it is beautiful out there. So how many at at Columbia Point, how many once like, how many, bursts do we have there? How many people keep

Jesse Baker [00:16:04]:

Yeah. 1313 room hotel. Mostly fully renovated. I’ve got a few rooms we kept for contractors and kind of, you know, loggers and stuff. So we got a nice spread of different room types. We’ve got 24 RV sites up there. And then, we rounded out our glamping portfolio and added 2 tents up on the hill this this year. So we’ve got a nice spread of, everything but tiny homes at at Columbia Point.

Scott Cowan [00:16:31]:

So during the winter there, are you guys operational? Because winters get a little more extreme in Eastern Washington than they do at the coast. What what’s going on during the winter there?

Jesse Baker [00:16:42]:

It’s a nice community, Scott. They, we have a nice mix of extended stay in our RV park. We do keep some transient open, about 8 sites, but, things slow down, obviously, and we do a lot of snow removal. That’s what I can tell you. Yeah. We got a bobcat out there, and, you know, it’s keeping the driveways cleared and keeping the fires hot. You know? We’ve got a big big shop out there that we’re trying to turn into more of a Mhmm. Event space, have some live music and stuff.

Jesse Baker [00:17:15]:

So I think we’ll try to pursue that next year and get that same f and b or, you know, the beverage license like we have in the Dunes. We’ve we’ve, you know, we’ve added coffee at 3 out of 10 locations. And so Columbia Point, we’re trying to determine if you wanna bring that in house or kinda go with the mobile mobile coffee shop out on the corner. So that’s kind of some exciting stuff coming up next year.

Scott Cowan [00:17:38]:

So I gotta ask you because in the earlier episode, your partner mentioned, you know, no to decaf. He was adamant about no decaf. Like, if somebody wanted decaf, they could just drink water, which is a man after my own heart. Did you guys cave? Are you doing decaf at the coffee shops?

Jesse Baker [00:17:59]:

You know, he’s he’s opinionated about a lot of things, man. I I like that about him. Mhmm. And so yeah. You know, we at the at the coffee shops, we’ve got decaf. We did he did, twist his arm, at least in our Chatonio one. But not at the Dunes, we found that a lot of it just, sat around and get used. I don’t think people want it.

Jesse Baker [00:18:23]:

You know, it’s like, why would you wake up to face that rain without a little caffeine?

Scott Cowan [00:18:29]:

Yeah. Yeah. I I got it. I mean, I’m I’m kidding. I mean, decaf’s fine, but, you know, I I I just thought it was pretty funny. He was like, you know, no decaf. And he was just it was awesome. So Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:18:41]:

Without putting me on the spot, because I you know, deals are deals are complicated, deals are sometimes best not talked about. But do you have any can we can we hope for more things happening in Washington?

Jesse Baker [00:19:02]:

You absolutely can. There’s always hope. I’ve got, you know, we’ve got our eyes on some I love Washington. It’s just, you know, it’s still it’s still I would say the market’s still priced pretty high. You know, and it’s it’s a good thing. I like I like, well, more we wanna round out something closer I go to the Port of Laning Town, the the Edge over where further down closer to Spokane. There’s some beautiful properties that I guess won’t technically be Washington, but Right. Cousins Right.

Jesse Baker [00:19:36]:

Right. Close by. And then, up by you guys, you know, I’m always looking. I’m always looking. But I think we have Seattle Metro pretty well covered, so we don’t really we’re trying to continue to build that map. So just stick

Scott Cowan [00:19:49]:

ask you this. If if somebody what do you guys if you don’t mind, what are you looking for? What’s a what’s a what’s a what are some of the criteria that you guys look for to determine if a property is a a fit for what you’re doing?

Jesse Baker [00:20:05]:

Yeah. Another great question. And actually speaking of the Virginian, that’s funny because, after we had purchased that, other people have heard the articles about 3 or 4 calls Yeah. From people. Their criteria was anything from a 20 to 40 acre ranch, you know, that has, you know, big bed and breakfast style lodging, to these motor ends that I’m talking about, where we look for stuff that’s you know, 25, 50 unit roadside motels. For the markets, you know, it’s always been about the demand centers in the national parks, or the highway exits where there’s a lot of business going through. So there’s always economic factors. But, me, personally, there’s gotta be a little bit of a story too, or a little bit of a challenge.

Jesse Baker [00:20:58]:

Alright? Looks I think I like to tell people that we do the deals that Nobody else

Scott Cowan [00:21:02]:

can do it.

Jesse Baker [00:21:03]:

You know? And stuff’s just been sitting in there, like, holy smokes. But I like to get my hands dirty.

Scott Cowan [00:21:09]:

Well, you had talked about before, and there was this kind of joke because my real estate, I deal with foreclosures. Right? So you guys were talking about, you know, the meth hotels. You know, you know, some you know, most people, you you say that four letter word and people go running for the for the exits. You guys, not that that’s what you want, but you guys seem like you’re the type of guys to roll up your sleeves, get in there, tear it apart, put it back together, build that sweat equity. And I think that’s pretty cool, frankly, that you, you, you do this because so many people would look at a project and go, yep. We’ll knock it down, and we’ll do something else here. And you guys are seemingly more about the I don’t know what’s the right

Jesse Baker [00:21:57]:

word I

Scott Cowan [00:21:57]:

wanna use, but, like, the preservation and and repurposing and reuse of the of the facility given what it’s what you’ve got. And I like that.

Jesse Baker [00:22:10]:

Yeah. I like that. I appreciate that. Yeah. I appreciate that, Scott. And I’m I’m glad you brought that topic up. You know, I grew up in Baltimore, Wisconsin, and my grandma ran the Main Street Preservation Facility. You know, I’ve always been about old buildings,

Scott Cowan [00:22:27]:

you

Jesse Baker [00:22:27]:

know, antiquing. I guess it was kinda how I was raised. But, you know, so then you couple that with, I would say, low entry point. You know, when you’re when you’re scrapping on an entrepreneur, sometimes you’ve gotta do the jobs that no one else will do. And, for Aaron and I, getting into the commercial side of the hotel industry versus residential and Airbnb is what we have been doing prior to COVID. I think, you know, there’s a lot of opportunities to put people that are willing to put themselves out there and bet on them, you know, bet on yourself a little bit. So whether it’s finding an owner carried project that’s, got no financial operating history, I’ve figured it out and, or taken, yeah, some of those 4 letter words like you’re dealing, meth and old, the ones we don’t ever like to say. Sometimes you gotta remediate, delete, and press reset.

Jesse Baker [00:23:21]:

But the phones of the building, usually pretty good.

Scott Cowan [00:23:26]:

Not not without challenges, but normally, if you if you remediate I’ve got a project right now. I’m working on like that. So I got it. So question I love to ask this question. I’m putting you on the spot with

Jesse Baker [00:23:40]:

it. But what,

Scott Cowan [00:23:43]:

in a bad way, what’s been a bad surprise that you guys have had? You took on a project. I don’t care what state it’s in right now. Have you taken something on and went, oh my god. I didn’t see this coming. Has there been any of those did you step in it type type things?

Jesse Baker [00:24:01]:

Oh, yeah. Well, you know, I can admit to built some built some glamping fence on the hillside down there in Escalante, Utah, and, they’ll up cam the old inspector, tried this right on day 1, and that was a big wake up. You know, of course, this was a master plan 25 acre property. And, you know, we’re building a 36 below 36 inch deck, you know, to put a tent on top. There was no structure to it. But, you know, before we could put anything in the ground, you know, we had to update, permitting, and, you know, they really, put their foot down quickly. So that threw me a curveball, you know, as far as time and planning, but it’s a good thing, ultimately. You know, I went in and met with the town and and, ended up getting, you know, a large chunk of our master plan approved for, you know, to action, and doing it the right way.

Jesse Baker [00:24:55]:

I was trying to always like to be friends. Right? Right? We’re that lesson. But, you know, in a lot of these other properties or communities that we go in, there’s no real permitting process for planting. And so that was a that was a lesson for sure. And then the other thing would be, frozen pipes. That’s all I can say about that. And and it you gotta dig those pipes deep in Idaho and old galvanized steel and cold winters. Man, I tell you what, I’ve had a lot of calls that said, hey.

Jesse Baker [00:25:24]:

We’re flooded again.

Scott Cowan [00:25:26]:

Being the operative word. Again. Yeah.

Jesse Baker [00:25:29]:

Hot hot water tanks and galvanized pipes.

Scott Cowan [00:25:32]:

So what are you guys doing to, remedy these? Because the cold weather is gonna continue. Right? So are you what do you what are you doing in these properties? How are you handling that?

Jesse Baker [00:25:42]:

Yeah. We do it well, we do it the right way, and we don’t want to go in there and patch it up. So it’s usually install text or, you know, redig the lines. We had to redig the lines over at Cottonwood, so there were no, shutoff valves to one side of the well. So our biggest building, you know, just had a nice pond going on for all spring. But, we dug the whole thing up, and, yep, sure enough, the old excavator said, yeah. They put the stuff way back in, long pipes. So you gotta put in new lines.

Jesse Baker [00:26:13]:

We do it. Yeah. Anyway, most of it, though, you can expect. Once you once, you know, you’ve seen 10 Yeah. There’s not much Okay. I haven’t seen.

Scott Cowan [00:26:26]:

So this is gonna be, you know, I I got a couple more questions for you, but you guys got a passport. Yeah. What’s the passport? Talk about the passport.

Jesse Baker [00:26:37]:

Yeah. I appreciate the plug. Happy to. The Altrip Passport, you know, and we’ve we’ve got 3 tiers rolled out. But, basically, we’re going with the a gold platinum and a primo type of model. So we want our RVers to be able to have, you know, some club discounts, and we wanna promote that map of property convenience across the 5 states. So our passport concept offers some benefits for RV, you know, not dissimilar to other organizations out there, but within our own, you know, our own network. Then we’ve got a mid tier, the gold the gold standard passport, which, you know, includes both.

Jesse Baker [00:27:18]:

That’s a lodging element. I believe, we wanna incorporate, you know, pick up the different lodgings, all the different properties, you know, have a maybe 10 10 free stays.

Scott Cowan [00:27:28]:

Okay.

Jesse Baker [00:27:30]:

And then the, Primo level is what we’re we’re really trying to promote this year, this ultra, concept, which is we’ve got this dream of building a travel website within our portfolio and kind of across the country. But, you know, completing our all trip challenge, which is all of the properties within the network in 1 year, and having some lifetime status. So for this 1st year, you know, like, those that would would take the, Primo package and and get all the stamps, you know, they’ve got, a lifetime membership discount that nobody

Scott Cowan [00:28:09]:

else has. Completed this?

Jesse Baker [00:28:11]:

So what? We’ve got a couple that have a couple influencers. But as far as this passport program, we just, rolled this out. But, you know, the other thing this gives us the opportunity to do is have, some of these hard copy passports when you meet someone. It’s nice to just follow-up and mail them on something as a as a nice gift. So we’d be having some some, philanthropy we can do with this stuff. We’ve started getting into donating, trips and auction and stuff. So it’s another cool topic, but these passports are something fun to just actually hand out a hard copy too and say go get these stamps and have Right.

Scott Cowan [00:28:47]:

Well, that’s that’s kind of a cool idea, actually. I think that’s a that’s that’s pretty cool. Before and this is we’re gonna dump the clutch and talk about personal life here. Before, one of the questions I always ask guests is cake or pie, and you picked cake, and you also mentioned because your wife had a baking site going. Does she still is she still doing that?

Jesse Baker [00:29:12]:

Ma’am, my wife is doing everything, and, she’s amazing. She still is doing that. Her Hey, Danny Bakes, is is out there. She gets still quite a few restaurant openings, and she actually had a few of her, menu items featured, with Ethan Solo on a couple of his restaurant rollouts, her biscuits and gravy and her her shrimp and grits. So she’s doing amazing. Yeah. And I’m still I’m still a cake guy, but, you know, as I get older, I’m I’m leaning more towards pie, you know. But

Scott Cowan [00:29:42]:

Oh my gosh.

Jesse Baker [00:29:44]:

Either either or. Yeah. It’s growing on me. So she also, you know, she’s featured in, Seattle Times too. She gets to submit a recipe every, every couple weeks, and so I I get to do quite the

Scott Cowan [00:29:58]:

a random taste test test spot. You have to be the taste tester. That’s that’s asking an awful lot. I mean, that’s the oh, so I wanna put you on the spot. Your wife won’t listen to this, so she won’t know. She ever made anything, you went, yeah, this isn’t gonna work?

Jesse Baker [00:30:14]:

Never. No man can say that. Right? No, I I actually usually like everything. She knows my dates. But I’ll tell you that on our first date, she took me to, one of our first dates. We had sushi, you know. And I’m just a Midwest guy. And, she gave me the umagi or whatever, man.

Jesse Baker [00:30:34]:

I was chewing on that thing for about 3 minutes before I finally spit it out. I said, what are you trying to do to me, lady?

Scott Cowan [00:30:41]:

So have you

Jesse Baker [00:30:45]:

So now I’ve now I’ve grown up a little bit. I’ve got a little more of a Okay.

Scott Cowan [00:30:48]:

I was just gonna ask if you Cheers. Chances are now. So you’ve got you the pallet has been sophisticated up a little bit. You know, you’ve leveled it

Jesse Baker [00:30:56]:

up just a little bit. Oh, yeah. You know, I went to one of these nice sushi experiences in downtown Seattle, and I think I it was, like, 16 rounds. They kept coming at me. I made it you know, 14 out of 16 were thumbs up. I made it through. So I guess that’s pretty good rate.

Scott Cowan [00:31:12]:

Didn’t you like out of what what

Jesse Baker [00:31:15]:

it’s another thing that, you know, I was chewing on for a while type of thing. It’s not

Scott Cowan [00:31:18]:

as small. Kinda yeah. I mean, alright. So she’s doing

Jesse Baker [00:31:22]:

But the So

Scott Cowan [00:31:23]:

she’s writing for The Times? She’s she’s putting articles in The Times? That’s very cool.

Jesse Baker [00:31:28]:

Yeah. She’s yeah. She’s been doing that for a couple, couple years now. She gets the once in a while, they’ll have her on a main feature too. But just a different array of, a lot of things besides baking too. She’s not quite the quite the reach there, and I know she really enjoys that. So

Scott Cowan [00:31:45]:

Alright. Cool. So gotta ask you since you’re kind of in the Georgetown area, kind of ground you know, the the epicenter, if you will. Where’s a great place down there for lunch these days?

Jesse Baker [00:31:57]:

You know, I got a new one for everybody. It’s it’s a rebrand of one of the old bars on Airport Way. It’s called Mauds. M a u d e s. Yeah. Mauds. And, when I was stumbling down there, you know, I was sober, of course, but I was still stumbling around. And I was looking for a good lunch spot, and I went in there.

Jesse Baker [00:32:19]:

And, you know, the first thing they have on there is the original Wisconsin cheese curds for some of Wisconsin guys. So that’s the only place in town, and I ordered them. And, let me tell you, they’re it went down just like the state fair. So really really great cheese curds, and they serve Miller Miller tallboys and great for the Mariners game. So that’s my shout out to mods on Airport Way. What was the place

Scott Cowan [00:32:44]:

what was it before it was mods?

Jesse Baker [00:32:46]:

Do Do

Scott Cowan [00:32:47]:

you remember?

Jesse Baker [00:32:48]:

I think it was the Square Knot Diner before. It’s not it’s right next to 9 pound hammer. It’s down on the on the south end. So, you gotta walk your way down there, but, got a great bartender. Every time I’ve been in there, she’s in there. So she must have

Scott Cowan [00:33:01]:

a good time. Alright. So, so you’re, you know, Wisconsin. Have you ever have you ever tried Wisconsin Burger in Spokane?

Jesse Baker [00:33:10]:

No. I haven’t, but I I will.

Scott Cowan [00:33:11]:

There’s a place called Wisconsin Burger, and it’s in this residential neighborhood. So it’s it’s kinda odd to me, you know, it’s it’s this corner. And there’s this little little commercial building in this nice older residential area. I think it’s South Perry Street area. Don’t quote me on that. The Spokane listeners will yell at me no matter what I say about Spokane. I just get in trouble. But, yeah, Wisconsin Burger.

Scott Cowan [00:33:36]:

Went there one time. I can’t say that it it’s gonna make you feel like you’re at home, but I can tell you it was a good solid burger. And so, you know and they had cheese curds. So, you might Uh-huh. If you’re hitting that, you know, going east side of the state, add that to your list and give it a shot maybe. Give it a try.

Jesse Baker [00:33:56]:

I might do that. I might do that. In fact, you know, I got a I got a chance to go over there here 1st part of November. But, you know, how about Culver’s? If you wanna talk Wisconsin burgers, have you ever done Culver’s? Okay. Well, yeah, they’re in probably 30, 40 states now. But, yeah, I grew up, and they started in Wisconsin. So Culver’s butter burgers are, probably the all time best, I would say. And, if you get a chance, it’s a it’s a deluxe burger too.

Jesse Baker [00:34:26]:

We’re not talking like a White Castle type thing. It’s a it was like the original solid beef smash burger. Alright. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:34:34]:

Yeah. So So what’s a good burger in Seattle? What’s what’s your kinda what what what else you

Jesse Baker [00:34:41]:

got? Yeah. Good question. Well, Tavern Burger is pretty good. That’s at most of the pubs down here, Loretta’s and, Starbrass. I think, we were we’ve also got downtown Burb’s Burgers, kind of a food truck style. And then trying to think, you know, because you can see, I I I can get out a lot of my own neighbors. I don’t go up north too much. But, of course, people rant rave about dicks.

Jesse Baker [00:35:08]:

I’m you know, I’ve act You haven’t

Scott Cowan [00:35:12]:

been to dicks?

Jesse Baker [00:35:13]:

But, I haven’t I I yeah. So tell me, should I go up there? Is that, is that worth

Scott Cowan [00:35:19]:

I I gotta I gotta be honest with you. Back in in my late twenties and early thirties when I was living in Seattle and I was going out at night, Dix was great after going out. I still when I go over to Seattle, it’s a coin toss.

Jesse Baker [00:35:37]:

Most

Scott Cowan [00:35:37]:

of the time, I stop there. It there’s I just Yeah. Yeah. They’re they’re solid. They’re just they are what they are. I’m not gonna tell you that it’s a great hamburger. Like like, oh, this is delicious, but there’s something about them and their fry their fries are outstanding. Yeah.

Scott Cowan [00:35:53]:

It’s you gotta try it, man.

Jesse Baker [00:35:56]:

You tell you, you need to do it. I need to do that tip. I’ve been to the gumball. You know? I do I do the Seattle stuff.

Scott Cowan [00:36:02]:

To the gumball.

Jesse Baker [00:36:05]:

Well, I will tell you on the last topic of burgers. I got a guy down the way here. It’s called it’s Herffy’s in the next to the Wells Fargo. This old boy Charles runs it, and, man, his number 3, the bacon cheeseburger, probably that’s where I go. So, Charles, if everyone go down there, and that guy would be rich.

Scott Cowan [00:36:23]:

Okay. Awesome. Now see, that’s a that’s Perfys was a chain as a kid growing up. Perfys was a chain in in the Tacoma Saddle area, and they were really good burgers. And then franchise anymore. I think people have bought the locations, kept the name, and and yeah.

Jesse Baker [00:36:36]:

I think so.

Scott Cowan [00:36:36]:

But, yeah, he’s been taking care of me for

Jesse Baker [00:36:38]:

a few years, and but it’s one of those

Scott Cowan [00:36:41]:

things I gotta have

Jesse Baker [00:36:41]:

the I gotta have the urge for it. You know? So so, so what else, Scott? You know, we had a lot of topics, but, you gotta look under the hood right now. So what else can I do for you?

Scott Cowan [00:36:59]:

You you said some things that intrigued me. Number 1, you got you got the wedding venue out of the coast. I think that’s awesome. You’re you’re thinking about putting, you know, a music venue in. I’m all about places that have an opportunity for, you know, local musicians, regional musicians to play. So I encourage you my my encouragement is keep keep doing the developing this. And I think you guys should look for something in, like, the Walla Walla area. Like, not like, in, like, Dayton or, Waits Waitsburg.

Scott Cowan [00:37:35]:

Just a little out of Walla Walla. Because Walla Walla is such a as you as I know you know this, Walla Walla is a huge draw, big wine country, blah blah blah. But that area to me seems like it would be a a good fit for the the vibe you guys have. And, so I would encourage you to look there.

Jesse Baker [00:38:00]:

I I

Scott Cowan [00:38:01]:

wish it I do want you to I I’m gonna put you on the spot. You may not be ready to talk about this, but this this motor in concept you guys are doing, can you can you elaborate on that a little bit more?

Jesse Baker [00:38:12]:

Yeah. I’m happy to. You know, I think that’s that’s, one of the coolest things that we’re trying to accomplish, and what I’m saying is that an outdoor hospitality brand transitioning to compete against kind of the traditional brands. So it started, with a vision, and our vision is to go into these, interstate high demand center highways where there’s 3 or 4 franchise flags, you know, like a Holiday Inn Express, a Travelodge, a Super 8, for example, those 3. The motor ends that there’s, you know, 2 or 3 there that would be private, you know, unbranded independent hotels. We wanna go in under the right circumstances and acquire these at the right rate, if, you know, when we’re trading for them. And the idea is to refresh and recharge. So, we want people that are contractors, you know, people that are traveling across the country in their electric vehicles.

Jesse Baker [00:39:09]:

Will be high on the EV. And then, the recharge element in the morning is heavy on the coffee engine. So we’re gonna have a a coffee and a a burrito type food truck environment. Usually, there’s there’s space in these. A lot of them are u shaped, or, you know, a couple straightaways. So there’s usually space at the side of the parking lots. And, ultimately, Jet’s going in there and branding these as boutique roadside, you know, overnight or extended stay experiences that are gonna compete and hopefully, overtake those branded properties in terms of rate, you know, and we’ll have a mix of extended stay for our occupancy. So I think it’s it’s a great concept, and and really the future for us to to try and compete as Yeah.

Jesse Baker [00:40:00]:

I could tell you outdoor outdoor travel is excellent for us, but, you know, we’ve got people in the glamping industry now putting up tents for $65 in your backyard, you know, with the porta potty next to it advertising. So it’s it’s a little bit, capped out on the rate side. I really see this motor in concept as a way for us to keep our brand on the forefront and have our edge and bring it over to, you know, the hotel industry.

Scott Cowan [00:40:26]:

I like that idea a lot. That’s that’s very cool.

Jesse Baker [00:40:30]:

And so I hope to expand that into Washington too. You know? And right now, we’re we’re focused on the I eighty corridor and a little bit of the Rocky Mountain areas more. But, certainly, we all know there’s plenty of these hotels in in every town. It’s just forecasting kinda where the demand’s gonna be.

Scott Cowan [00:40:49]:

There’s, like, this one there’s this motor in on the way into Wenatchee that you see every time you drive into town on highway 2. Starting on the right hand side of the road, and it it always looks like it’s under some form of duct tape renovation. Like, there’s somebody trying to patch a hole in the pool. There’s there’s somebody boarding up a window. And it it it but yet it seems like a location that if somebody were to take it over and polish it up because of the proximity to Leavenworth, the proximity to Lake Chelan, proximity to Winnetka,

Jesse Baker [00:41:27]:

that it would

Scott Cowan [00:41:28]:

occupancy seems like it would be really solid. And you see those by the side of the highway around in Washington a lot.

Jesse Baker [00:41:37]:

You do. You do. And, you know, I think you’re right. You know, imagine if that had a beautiful sign and, you know, fresh coat of paint and some cedar to make it pop and maybe a coffee shop outside because it’s a great location. So, you know, that’s that’s part of the idea. And then, you know, we want them to look up and find what is Jet. And then they’re, oh, Jet did all this outdoor cool stuff, and now they’re this is their hotel concept. We wanna try that out.

Jesse Baker [00:42:02]:

Oh. So so I think it’s part of, part of it’s the real estate. We’ve always been a real estate company, but part of it’s, you know, building out this brand and something cool, you know, like, Ace Hotel has done a really nice job. Pineapple and, like, Hotel Jupiter in Portland. Those are some good examples that we’re kinda modeling this after. And, a lot of people are doing it across the country, so we’ll see how it works out.

Scott Cowan [00:42:29]:

Well, Jesse, I’m gonna I’m gonna cut this one a little short just because you’re a busy man with things to do, and, you know.

Jesse Baker [00:42:40]:

Yeah. I’m 15 minutes over, Scott, but I always appreciate your my time with you and and all your listeners. And, you know, we’ve covered a lot of real estate in ourselves today, so this is really good.

Scott Cowan [00:42:50]:

Man. Thanks for coming back on, and all the best.

Jesse Baker [00:42:54]:

Yeah. Yeah. Look forward to it. And, yeah. Good luck, and hope everyone has a great holiday season, and maybe we’ll catch you next Friday.

Scott Cowan [00:43:02]:

Take care, man.

Jesse Baker [00:43:03]:

Alright. Take care.