Mark Somen joins Craft House

Mark Somen, Director, New York

There are people who work in hospitality. And then there are people who understand, at a fundamental level, what hospitality is actually for — what it means to create spaces where people connect, belong, and are moved to do something meaningful with their time. Mark Somen is firmly in the second category. And we are proud to welcome him to Craft House.

Mark's relationship with this industry began at sixteen, in his native Kenya, leading safaris for Abercrombie & Kent. It is, in retrospect, a perfect origin story — because everything that defines great hospitality was already present in that first role: deep knowledge of place, genuine care for the guest, and the ability to create experiences that stay with people long after they've gone home.

What followed was a career that moved across some of the most interesting and demanding environments in global hospitality. Eight years with Four Seasons built the foundation — an education in what operational excellence and genuine luxury look like when both are taken seriously. From there, Mark spent nearly five years as Food and Beverage Director at China Grill Management at the Hudson Hotel in New York, one of the most creatively ambitious hospitality operations of its era. Then came Soho House, where Mark served as US Director of Operations for over five years — helping shape one of the most culturally significant membership club concepts in the world at the precise moment it was defining what a modern private club could be. Most recently, Mark has been serving as General Manager of Tribe Hotel in Nairobi — a property that sits at the intersection of design, community, and African hospitality in a way that few properties anywhere in the world manage to achieve.

What connects all of it is not just operational excellence — though Mark has that in abundance. It is a conviction that hospitality, at its best, is a vehicle for something larger. For connection. For community. For impact. It is a belief that the spaces we create and the experiences we design have the potential to change how people see the world and their place in it. That conviction runs through everything Mark has built, and it is entirely aligned with what Craft House was founded to do.

For Yvette, this is also a reunion. Mark and Yvette's paths crossed at Soho House, where both were shaping what the brand could become in different parts of the world. Reconnecting under Craft House feels less like a new beginning and more like a continuation of a conversation that was always going to lead here.

Mark joins Craft House at a moment when the intersection of hospitality, private clubs, and genuine impact is becoming one of the most interesting spaces in our industry. His experience across luxury hotels, membership clubs, destination properties, and his deep roots in Africa give Craft House a perspective and a reach that strengthens everything we do for our clients.

We are building something that matters. We are very glad Mark is part of it.