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Mint House Appoints Three Hospitality Executives to Leadership Team

Appointments include Jess Berkin as Head of Brand, Paul Sacco as Chief Development Officer and Jim Mrha as Chief Financial Officer.
6/3/2021

Mint House, a leading apartment-style hospitality brand, announced the appointments of three new key executives to its senior team: Jess Berkin as Head of Brand, Paul Sacco as Chief Development Officer and Jim Mrha as Chief Financial Officer.

These appointments are a true showcase of the brand’s forward momentum as Berkin, Sacco and Mrha bring strong leadership and brand management expertise to Mint House as the company continues to push the boundaries of the hospitality industry. With $50 million raised in total funding to-date, Mint House has increased their active unit count by 85 percent in the past six months and plans to have accommodations in more than 30 properties nationwide in the next 12 months. The brand’s flagship location at 70 Pine Street in downtown New York City was also recently named No. 1 Hotel in the U.S. and No. 18 in the World on TripAdvisor’s 2021 Travelers’ Choice® Best of the Best Awards.

“We initially set out to disrupt the traditional hotel model and the fact that our NYC property is ranked #1 in the country is very validating for our team and mission,” says Will Lucas, CEO and Founder of Mint House. “With Jess, Paul, and Jim on board we will continue to push Mint House’s first-in-class offerings to new heights and open doors to more guests around the world.”

Hospitality Marketing and Communications Executive to Lead Mint House Brand

Jess Berkin brings 15 years of experience in global brand management, marketing and guest experience leadership to her new role as Mint House’s Head of Brand. Most recently, as Chief Marketing Officer for travel e-commerce startup, Porter & Sail, Berkin led brand, marketing and communications -- ultimately culminating in an exit to Luxury Escapes, one of the world’s fastest growing travel companies. Berkin has held a number of global marketing and public relations roles for hospitality brands and agencies including Baltz & Company, Lou Hammond Group, Makeready and Marriott International where she spearheaded global communications and experiential marketing for the company's luxury brands portfolio for seven years.

“Will and the team are creating a new category of hospitality, a competitive landscape that’s also ripe for innovation,” says Berkin. “The combination of our oversized, design-forward spaces, hotel-style amenities and seamless tech stack offers so much to today’s traveler, and I look forward to working with this stellar team to continue to push boundaries while delivering against the consistent guest experience that’s become synonymous with the Mint House name.”

Hotel Growth and Development Leader Joins Mint House as Chief Development Officer

With a successful track record on both the brand and owner sides of the hotel industry, Paul Sacco joins Mint House as Chief Development Officer. Sacco, an established leader in the hospitality industry, previously served as Chief Investment Officer at Driftwood Capital, President of Global Development at RLH Corporation, President and Chief Development Officer of TPG Hotels & Resorts, and Head of Development North America for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. While at Starwood, Sacco played a key role in the company’s expansion to over 1,000 hotels globally across all brand segments and spearheaded the launch of Aloft Hotels and Element Hotels.

“Mint House’s potential for substantial growth is propelled by its current success operating more than 500 apartment-style hotel units in 12 cities nationwide,” says Sacco. “With an unparalleled focus on guest experience and coveted downtown locations, Mint House emerged from the pandemic as a demonstrated leader in the multi-length stay, apartment-style accommodation category and I look forward to working with this incredible team to continue furthering Mint House’s global reach.”

Hotel Finance Executive Joins Mint House as Chief Financial Officer

Jim Mrha brings more than three decades of experience in finance, business development and operations within the hospitality sector to join Mint House as Chief Financial Officer. Most recently serving as interim CEO and Chief Financial Officer at Domio, Mrha previously led Americas Operations Finance at Hilton Worldwide, the brand’s largest region. Prior to his time at Hilton, he served five years as Chief Financial Officer at MGM Hospitality and over 25 years with Marriott International serving in senior leadership roles in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

“There is a transformation taking place in hospitality and Mint House is well poised to be the leader,” notes Mrha. “This notion has been validated by Mint House at 70 Pine being recognized by TripAdvisor as the best hotel in the U.S. I’m excited to join the team during this pivotal time as we scale the business, bring owners and investors a compelling value proposition and provide travelers with the next generation of tech-enabled, experience-focused hospitality.”

The appointments are effective immediately. For more information, please visit www.minthouse.com.

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