Apartment-style accommodation provider Mint House has partnered with American Express Global Business Travel, Mint House CEO and cofounder Will Lucas announced Thursday at the Business Travel Show in London. Mint House will build the "guest experience of the future" based on Amex GBT client traveler preferences and use technology to help deliver it, said Mint House chief customer officer Shane Berry.
Mint House will participate in Amex GBT's Business Extras program and the Rest Assured Solutions program, which was announced earlier this week, and work directly with the travel management company and its clients, Berry told BTN. The companies began discussions about four months ago, he said.
Amex GBT chose to work with Mint House, which is one of several apartment-style accommodation providers that have entered the market in recent years, because of its exclusive focus on the business travel market, Amex GBT VP of hotel strategy Wes Bergstrom told BTN. Mint House was founded in 2017.
"Travelers want access to alternate accommodations, but we've seen limited demand from clients for home-sharing options due to concerns around instant confirmation and security," Bergstrom said via email. "Our partnerships with extended-stay and corporate housing providers like Mint House and WWStay help our clients offer travelers different options and experiences while prioritizing duty of care."
Berry noted that Amex GBT research has shown that 74 percent of Millennial business travelers have stayed in an apartment-style rental for work, while fewer than 10 percent of travel managers include such accommodations in policy.
"There is a conflict there which creates a perfect opportunity for Mint House to solve that problem by bringing the inspiring type of accommodation options to business travelers while respecting the corporate travel manager requirements, processes, duty of care, etc.," Berry said. "I've had the pleasure of meeting safety and security professionals at large corporations and walking them through our buildings and our suites, and we've been given the seal of approval by those that have taken the time to do that."
During the past six months, Mint House has queried corporations to understand their needs and the distribution channels the provider should use. It has been building global distribution system connections and getting in preferred consortia programs across the TMC network, Berry added. The company also has a corporate advisory board.
The company focuses on using technology to streamline the lodging process. Before arrival, a guest can receive information to access their suite, pre-stock the kitchen or set the temperature of their rooms. Coming soon are Alexas in every suite, "so you can access the concierge by saying, 'Alexa, call Mint House concierge,' " Berry said. "What we are intent on doing is to bring to the customer the best of the Airbnb model without any of the drama that can be associated with that shared platform, and then the best of the hotel model without any of the downside of the hotel model," such as long waits to check in.
In addition to helping Mint House determine the types of accommodations and amenities to provide guests, the Amex GBT partnership also will help inform where the company should grow. Lucas currently is scouting real estate opportunities in London because "it is one of the top travel destinations that we've identified through the collaboration with Amex GBT, so we're very focused on London," Berry said.
The company takes over apartments—sometimes entire buildings, sometimes inventory within a building—and currently is located in 13 cities in the United States, including Denver, Miami and Philadelphia, and is looking to double its footprint domestically to places like Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Seattle, as well as expand globally. In addition to London, Mint House is looking at Paris and Toronto.
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