Mint House, which wants to help business travelers have a more “tech-rich” experience, today announced a $15 million Series A led by Revolution Ventures.
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NextView Ventures, Nelstone Ventures, and Ingleside Investors also participated in the financing, along with executives in the hospitality and real estate industries. Tom Mangas, the former CEO of Starwood Hotels, also put money in the round. Founded in early 2017, Mint House had only raised an undisclosed pre-seed round that year, according to its Crunchbase profile.
The New York-based company promises “tech-forward accommodations,” including a mobile app for check-ins and messaging with customer service.
It partners with landlords or business developers and leases between 20 to 200 units in a building with the goal of providing “amenity-rich, apartment-style accommodations with the brand consistency of top-tier hotels.”
Will Lucas, the founder of Mint House, said he was inspired by his own experience while traveling and staying in Airbnb properties.
“I needed to know that there was support for me, and I needed to know I could trust the room I was staying in,” he told Crunchbase News. This could be as simple as knowing the host would show up.
Right now, Mint House operates 200 residential units, with another 200 slated to open in the upcoming summer, according to its press release.
Some of its listings can be found through Airbnb or Vrbo, as well as on its own site. It additionally lists through traditional hotel booking sites like Expedia.com.
The company currently has a presence in Denver, Detroit, Indianapolis, Nashville, and Miami, according to its website, with plans to launch in Minneapolis and San Diego “soon.”
Lucas told Crunchbase News that overall, Mint House plans to launch in 10 new cities in the coming year. The company said it will also use the new capital to further develop its technology and grow its 40-person staff.
The market for housing business travelers comfortably is a growing one. In March, we wrote about how New York-based Blueground, a tech-equipped apartment rental company, had raised $20 million. Founded in Europe in 2013, Blueground formally launched in the U.S. last summer. That company leases apartments and then upgrades, and fully furnishes them, making them available for renters looking for “turnkey” rentals. Blueground typically leases apartments before they hit the market, with a goal of holding them for many years. It leases them to “vetted” renters for 30 days or longer.
Illustration Credit: Li-Anne Dias
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