He is self-admittedly unschooled, but on this day has a meeting with Jamie Reuben, the scion of a real estate empire and graduate of Regent’s University London, one of the world’s toniest and priciest schools. But this is no “Trading Places” moment. Although Simon Casson has little formal education, the 57-year-old is the CEO of Corinthia Hotels, a position he assumed in 2024, charged with leading the venerable, luxury hotel brand. He is in New York on a momentous occasion for the Maltese company—the opening of its first U.S. property, The Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel, an iconic Upper East Side property that once called John F. Kennedy and Bette Davis regulars. Reuben is the son of David Reuben, who, with his brother, Simon, are on a shortlist of the richest families in the U.K. and own the hotel.
Labeling Casson a rags-to-riches story isn’t entirely accurate, but there’s a modicum of fairness to it. Neither a high school nor college degree, he left his home in the north of England at 16 to wash dishes in a restaurant. “They gave me a room above,” he recalled. In fact, Casson’s rise could be the stuff of a novel. “Were I to write it, it would have been called ‘Pot Washer to President,’” he said. The problem is that would be inaccurate: He’s now a CEO. And with it, deprived of the alliterative conceit.
THROUGH THE GAUNTLET
Like others before him in the luxury hotel echelon, Casson honed his trade at Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. He was with the company for more than three decades, starting as an assistant manager in London to reaching his peak as president, EMEA. Four Seasons is kind of like the ultimate farm league for the hospitality C-suite: Contemporaries of Casson, and Four Seasons alumni, are aplenty, including Omer Acar, CEO of Raffles & Fairmont, Christopher Norton, CEO of Equinox Hotels, and Ben Trodd, COO of Aman. It’s an exclusive club and there’s a reason why many have such long durations with Four Seasons before moving on. “I stayed because of alignment in values, because it was a meritocracy where I could grow based on my talent and ability,” Casson said.
It’s clear that lessons forged at Four Seasons carry forward into his role with Corinthia, which he is apt to refer to as a “challenger brand,” one that clearly has less recognition than his former employer, especially outside Europe. Ironically, Corinthia Hotels is as old as Four Seasons, founded more than sixty years ago by Maltese Alfred Pisani, who remains executive chairman. Ten Corinthia hotels are currently open, either owned and/or managed by Corinthia, with Bucharest set to swing its doors open this March. Corinthia London, the group’s flagship property, has a storied past and was even the set for parts of the movie “Red Sparrow,” starring Jennifer Lawrence. Future openings include Maldives, Riyadh, Qatar and another hotel in Malta.
HOW TO DEAL
Far from Four Seasons, deals don’t just fall into the lap of Corinthia, but owners and partner prospects get undivided attention from Corinthia’s C-level executives. Equally significant, Corinthia has a track record of ownership, despite its pivot to growth by management contracts or leases, which is part of a new era for Corinthia. Consider the Surrey deal, which Casson referred to as a “coming together” of families. “We come to it with an owner and a developer mindset and as a brand that has to be challenging and disruptive to be amongst all the big players,” he said. Corinthia may be an upstart competitor, but when you make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. “It’s hard to not overstate the importance of New York City,” Casson said.
Casson is quick to heap praise on his predecessor for Corinthia’s recent spate of deals. To wit, another Simon, Simon Naudi, who is now managing director and group CEO of Corinthia Group. Casson has inherited operational hotels and is finessing a pipeline of properties that is pushing Corinthia beyond the realm of provincial player.
It’s shaping up to be an active next several months for Casson, a frequent Instagrammer (he has more than 12,000 followers), who has captured, for instance, his jogs through Central Park. He’ll need his running shoes. The 126-room Corinthia Brussels opened in December, a $150-million, four-year rebuild and restoration of what was the former Grand Hotel Astoria, which originally opened in 1910. Next up is the March opening of Corinthia Grand Hotel du Boulevard Bucharest, a Belle Epoque era hotel that originally opened in 1873 as the Hotel Herdan, before becoming the Grand Hotel du Boulevard in 1877. It is said that the hotel was the first in the city with electric lights and an elevator. Though Bucharest, Romania’s capital, might not yet be considered a bucket-list visit, Casson said that is changing. “It’s one of those undiscovered destinations for luxury travelers.”
Later this summer, Corinthia will make its Eternal City debut with the opening of Corinthia Rome, a city the company had long been looking to secure an asset in; this time, and again, in partnership with the Reuben Brothers. “Somehow, a little upstart like us ended up getting the cherry on top of the cake,” Casson said of the property, which is the old Bank of Italy headquarters, in the city’s Campo Marzio district.
Earlier this month, Corinthia announced a project in Dubai in collaboration with with Dubai General Properties on a hotel with branded residences. Located on the redeveloping Sheikh Zayed Road near the Museum of the Future, the project is expected to be among the world’s tallest buildings.
Hotels like Brussels and Bucharest, and St. Petersburg, Russia and Budapest before those, follow Corinthia’s tradition of restoring 19th-century grand hotels across Europe. It’s also looking to the future with new-development projects, including in Doha, the Maldives and in Diriyah, in Saudi Arabia. Beyond the titular Corinthia brand, the company launched the lifestyle Verdi Hotels brand in summer 2024 led by Paul Pisani, the nephew of Alfred Pisani. Four are currently open in Malta, Hungary and Tunisia. “It’s a vehicle to position us in the lifestyle segment,” Casson said, allowing that there are likely some current Corinthia hotels that could be slotted into the Verdi brand.
MAKING A MARK
Casson was given a mandate to elevate service offerings, the guest experience and the culture and employee experience at Corinthia, “and use those things to power forward,” Casson said. He shook up his senior leadership upon arrival, added a new CDO, new CFO and a new chief culture officer, to name a few. “It’s a team that’s really partnering with me to drive growth,” he said.
Future deals will come from the work of Casson and his handpicked team, likely through management contracts or leases, though there is still appetite to deploy capital in markets like Paris, Casson said, that are deemed consequential. After New York, Corinthia remains committed to sourcing deals in North America, with Casson pointing to the usual suspects, Miami and Los Angeles, to name two. In Europe, the aperture for growth may be wider, with cities including Paris, Madrid and Athens on the radar, along with resort-area locations.
Corinthia has also been approached for opportunities in China and Southeast Asia. Nothing concrete, yet, but Casson said they are in advanced discussions with a few partners. Here, again, Casson invokes the “challenger brand” status and it’s evident he’d like to soon retire the expression. “I’m personally explaining the story of Corinthia and its next era,” he said. “We’re hungry.”
