Destination and site
“Is this a place people will travel to, and pay for?”
Demand comes first: who arrives, why, how often and at what rate. A beautiful site in a market without demand is a monument, not a hotel.
School DV · Development
Most of a hotel’s return is fixed before the first brick, in the brief.
From the destination and the site to the opening night: what to build, how big, for whom, at what cost, and who should run it. We keep every decision tied to the numbers that justified the project.
1 · What we do for you
Ways we work with you.
Destination, site and concept
Market and site study, positioning, the guest the hotel is for, and the concept note that every later decision answers to.
Feasibility and the business case
Demand, rate and occupancy built from the market, a USALI pro forma, capital cost and returns, with a low, base and high case. Pre-feasibility in two weeks; full reports to lender standard.
Planning and design reviews
The area programme, adjacencies and the bay grid; drawing reviews at each stage against the brief and the budget.
Execution, FF&E and OS&E
Cost plan, procurement audit, FF&E and OS&E specifications matched to the rate the hotel will charge.
Operator selection and engagement
The choice between management, lease, franchise and independence; operator search, term sheets compared like for like, and the technical services agreement.
Pre-opening and development management
Critical path, pre-opening budget, leadership hiring, and our own team acting for the owner from first drawing to handover.
2 · What we know
The questions people ask, each answered with its conclusion first.
Concept
“What exactly are we building?”
One sentence that names the guest, the occasion and the price. Every room, restaurant and square foot must be traceable to it.
Feasibility
“Will it pay, and how badly can it go wrong?”
A pro forma on USALI lines with a low case that can still service the debt. If only the base case works, the project does not.
Planning and design
“How big should each part be?”
Size every area from the demand it serves: covers per day for restaurants, guests per hour for the lobby, events per year for the ballroom.
Execution
“How do I keep the build on budget?”
Reconcile every invoice with the drawings before paying it, and change nothing after tender without a costed reason.
FF&E and OS&E
“How much should the furniture cost?”
As much as the rate can carry. Specify to the guest the hotel is for, not to the brand’s catalogue.
Owner reviews
“When should the owner say yes or no?”
At fixed gates: concept, feasibility, schematic design, tender and pre-opening. Nothing moves to the next gate without a signed decision.
Operator selection and engagement
“Who should run it, and on what terms?”
Run a competition. Compare fees, performance test, approval rights, term and exit like for like, and never sign the first draft.
Pre-opening
“How do we open on time and trade from night one?”
A critical path owned by one person, a pre-opening budget checked line by line, and a soft-opening period planned, not suffered.
3 · What you can use
Free tools. Your figures stay on your screen.
DV · ToolLive
Area programme
Built area by department for a hotel of your tier and size.
Open →DV · ToolLive
Function capacity
Seated, cocktail and classroom capacity for any event space.
Open →DV · ToolLive
Mixed-use allocation
How much hotel, apartments, retail, offices and parking a site should carry, read as land value.
Open →DV · ToolIn preparation
Feasibility Snapshot
Keys, tier, rate, occupancy and cost per key to GOP, fees, NOI, value and returns. No land cost assumed.
4 · What you can watch
Short films with the transcript beside them.
Film 1 · Recording
Reading a feasibility study
The five numbers that decide whether a hotel should be built.
Film 2 · Recording
The area programme
Why a ballroom is sized by events a year, not by ambition.
5 · What you can read
Courses, papers and cases.
The Development Manual
From site to opening: gates, the area programme and benchmarks by tier, with calculators.
Read →The Claridges Redevelopment
Concept, approvals strategy, asset plan and business case for the next iconic luxury hotel of New Delhi.
Read →Hotel Agreements 101
Management, lease, franchise and hybrid agreements explained for owners.
Read →Operator Fee Structures 101
Base fee, incentive fee, owner’s priority and how the fee stack moves with performance.
Read →