In this episode of Outdoor Hospitality Weekly, we sit down with Jesse Baker, founder and CEO of JET Hospitality, to unpack how independent operators can outperform the big corporate consolidators moving into outdoor hospitality.

Jesse shares how he scaled JET from a single riverside property to a multi-million-dollar portfolio using his “hedgehog investment model”—buying distressed, underperforming assets and transforming them into boutique destinations full of character, culture, and cash flow.

He breaks down what makes this model work: finding underpriced problems instead of overpriced perfection, building teams that protect authenticity, and creating loyalty systems like JET Passports that connect guests across the brand.

It’s a playbook for anyone who believes the future of outdoor hospitality belongs to operators who can scale without losing soul.

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