Mint House appoints three executives to leadership team

Apartment-style hospitality brand Mint House has appointed three new key executives to its senior team: Paul Sacco as chief development officer, Jim Mrha as CFO and Jess Berkin as head of brand.

Sacco, Mrha and Berkin bring strong leadership and brand management expertise to Mint House. With $50 million raised in total funding to date, the brand has increased its active unit count by 85% 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 at 70 Pine St. 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 No. 1 in the country is very validating for our team and mission,” said Will Lucas, CEO/founder, 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.”

With a successful track record on both the brand and owner sides of the hotel industry, Sacco previously served as chief investment officer at Driftwood Capital, president, global development at RLH Corporation, president/chief development officer, TPG Hotels & Resorts and head of development North America, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. While at Starwood, he played a key role in the company’s expansion to more than 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,” said 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.”

Mrha brings more than three decades of experience in finance, business development and operations within the hospitality sector. He previously led Americas Operations Finance at Hilton, the brand’s largest region. Prior to his time at Hilton, he served five years as CFO at MGM Hospitality and more than 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,” noted 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.”

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, she led brand, marketing and communications—ultimately culminating in an exit to travel company Luxury Escapes. She 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,” said 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.”