Luxury Hospitality Veteran to Lead Next Chapter of Dog-First Travel Innovation
air.bark.co // @barkair
NEW YORK, NY (October 30, 2025) – BARK Air, the pioneering dog-first hospitality and semi-private aviation brand redefining what it means to travel with dogs, has appointed Jess Berkin as Vice President of Brand & Marketing.
Jess Berkin
A hospitality and brand-building powerhouse with two decades of experience developing and shaping iconic luxury and lifestyle brands, Berkin will guide BARK Air’s evolution from airline to full hospitality ecosystem. Her focus: establishing a new standard where personalized, elevated, dog-first service is not a novelty but an expectation.
Since joining BARK Air, Berkin has led the brand’s end-to-end brand and marketing transformation — from a reimagined visual identity and editorial-forward social presence to the company’s first paid media strategy and new digital experience. She also spearheaded the launch of The Companion Concierge, a first-of-its-kind travel service extending BARK Air’s care to the ground, offering international paperwork assistance, bespoke itineraries, and destination partnerships.
Berkin’s strategic leadership has helped usher in milestone collaborations, including partnerships with Skift, the global travel industry authority, and luxury travel agency, Fora Travel. These alliances marked new territory for BARK Air within the broader travel and hospitality landscape.
“Jess brings a rare combination of creative vision, strategic rigor and a deep understanding of luxury hospitality that perfectly aligns with where BARK Air is headed,” said Michael Novotny, President of BARK Air. “As we continue to evolve, her leadership ensures we’re setting a new standard for pet travel and redefining what it means to experience the world alongside your dog.”
Since its launch in 2024, BARK Air has flown nearly 2,000 dogs across more than 200 flights and 400,000 miles, generating $6M in first-year revenue and is on track to more than double that in year two.
Before joining BARK Air, Berkin served as Chief Brand Officer at LEFT LANE, where she led the creation of Hotel Bardo and Recess Hotel & Club, two award-winning brands that reimagined the boutique hospitality space. In its first nine months of operation, Hotel Bardo earned global recognition from Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, a coveted Michelin key, and received Hospitality Design’s HD Award for New Brand Launch.
Previously, Berkin spent seven years with Marriott International, shaping global communications and experiential marketing across its luxury portfolio — including The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, EDITION, JW Marriott, The Luxury Collection, and Autograph Collection Hotels. Earlier roles with Mint House, Porter & Sail, and Makeready further established her reputation for building culturally attuned, experience-driven brands.
A recognized thought leader in modern hospitality, Berkin has been featured in Hospitality Design, Wallpaper, Garden & Gun, and A Hotel Life, and has spoken on panels including Hospitality Design’s “Rethinking Lodging for Evolving Demand.” In 2024, she was honored among The PR Net’s “Marcomms Most Influential” for her innovation and impact in brand building.
ABOUT BARK AIR
BARK Air is the first truly dog-first airline and travel service redefining dog hospitality. Created for dogs and the people who love them, BARK Air customers swap cargo and chaos for spacious cabins and concierge-level care—at every stage of the journey. Founded in 2024, BARK Air has flown nearly 2,000 dogs across more than 200 flights with $6M in revenue – and are on track to more than double revenue in the company’s second year of operation. Now stepping confidently into refreshed positioning from an airline to a dog-first hospitality brand with the recent launch of The Companion Concierge, a standalone travel service available to all travelers, BARK AIR is underscoring a commitment to designing a future where personalized, elevated, dog-first service isn’t an amenity—it’s the expectation. For more information, visit www.air.bark.co and follow along @barkair.