SIMON DELL

I work with owners and developers on the decisions that shape a hospitality or mixed-use project — at the stage when those decisions still matter.

Concept · Operator Selection · Commercial Structuring

Both Sides of the Table

Twenty years running hotels. Then building them. That combination is rare — and it changes everything about how I advise.

From Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong to NEOM's sovereign-scale programmes, I've held senior operational roles and led asset strategy for multi-billion-dollar developments. I understand what an operator needs because I've been one. I protect what an owner needs because I've sat in that chair too.

Now I work independently — with a small number of clients at the stage when decisions are still fluid and the cost of getting them wrong is highest.

Selected Experience

  • NEOM — Asset Strategy & Development, Saudi Arabia
  • Chip Mong Group — SVP Strategy & Development, Cambodia
  • Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts — General Manager, Thailand
  • ONYX Hospitality — VP & Area GM North Asia
  • Mandarin Oriental — Director of Rooms, Hong Kong
  • Earlier: InterContinental, Raffles, Swissôtel, The Savoy Group

Institut Hôtelier César Ritz, Switzerland · Johnson & Wales University, USA

What I Do

01

Concept Development

Defining what a hospitality asset should be — its positioning, its market, its reason for existing. Before the architect draws, before the operator pitches, before the numbers get set in stone.

02

Operator Selection

Matching the right brand to the right asset. Evaluating proposals, negotiating terms, and ensuring the operator relationship is structured to protect long-term value — not just fill a flag on a map.

03

Commercial Structuring

Designing the owner-operator deal: fee structures, performance thresholds, termination rights, and the commercial architecture that determines who really benefits over the life of the agreement.

04

Asset Strategy

Across a portfolio or programme: what to build, where, in what sequence, and at what scale. Aligning hospitality assets with broader development goals and capital strategies.

By the Numbers

20+ Years International Luxury Hospitality
4 Countries Across Asia & Middle East
$500B+ Sovereign Programme Experience (NEOM)
2 Sides of the Table — Operational & Strategic

Let's Talk

I work with a small number of clients. If you are at an early or consequential stage of a project, I am happy to talk.

Get in Touch