It is my pleasure to introduce Simon P. Casson, an international figure in the luxury hotel industry. Today President of the Corinthia Hotel Group, he is pursuing a remarkable career in the service of demanding, human and forward-looking hospitality.
His experience, acquired notably within the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts group, where he headed operations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, gives him a valuable perspective on the major challenges facing the sector.
Invited to speak at the Hotel & Spa Meetings event in Paris, Simon P. Casson shared his profound thoughts on an essential theme: how to reconcile well-being, emotion and profitability in the contemporary hotel industry?
A subject at the heart of today’s concerns, at a time when establishments are seeking to offer more than just comfort: an authentic emotional experience, while ensuring a measurable return on investment.
In this article, I’d like to take you back over the main points of his speech, which brings together performance science, emotional intelligence and a long-term vision of hospitality.
A changing industry: well-being can no longer be decorative
In a post-Covid world, where physical and mental health have become individual and collective priorities, the hotel industry is facing a profound paradigm shift. Wellness can no longer be summed up as a basement spa, a treatment menu and a hushed ambience. It is becoming a pillar of the customer experience, on a par with service quality and hotel design. For Simon Casson, President of Corinthia Hotels and former Four Seasons executive, this shift is an opportunity to be seized, but only if it is done with intelligence, realism and financial responsibility.
The classic mistake: oversized, under-utilized spas
Simon Casson shares a very operational thought: “You can’t build 18 treatment cabins if you only fill three on a Saturday afternoon”. A common mistake in the luxury hotel industry is to try to impress with the size of the spa, without first analyzing the market or customer behavior. The result: expensive spaces that are difficult to make profitable, becoming cost centers rather than value drivers.
The key, he believes, lies in the right balance: designing a space according to actual visitor numbers, anticipating peaks and troughs in activity, adapting the offering to local expectations, and thinking about the scalability of uses. The wellness area should no longer be a totem pole, but a lever for sustainability and desirability.
Investing in low-touch: silent profitability
Simon Casson also advocates low-intensity wellness systems. Some technological equipment, such as light therapy cabins, recovery chairs or cryotherapy systems, may have an initial cost, but require little or no staff. The return on investment is therefore potentially faster than with traditional treatments, which are very human-intensive.
This “low-touch, high-tech” approach to unmanned equipment makes it possible to diversify experiences without creating a dependency on manpower, while catering to a clientele in search of autonomy, technology and measurable performance.
Convincing investors: well-being must speak numbers
“I went from operating to owning my own home. Today, every square meter counts.” This sentence by Simon Casson reflects the realism faced by today’s hotel managers. Well-being is no exception to the logic of return on investment. Every space must be considered as an asset. The wellness area must therefore be the subject of rigorous business plans: installation, maintenance and labor costs, foreseeable visitor numbers, average price, payback period…
Where once intuition guided decisions, today data and analysis must drive investment. Simon Casson invites wellness professionals to speak the language of funders to help their projects move forward.
Don’t forget emotion: well-being begins at the entrance
But beyond the figures, Simon Casson reminds us of the essential: well-being is also a question of perception and emotion. He recalls with modesty his memories of coming to London as a child, too intimidated to enter a palace. Even today, he never loses that “young Simon’s wonder” when he walks through the doors of a luxury hotel.
“Those flowers in the hall aren’t directly profitable. Nor does that marble floor. And yet, they help create a unique experience.” It’s these details, invisible to the accountant’s eyes, that make the customer feel welcome, authorized to feel good. And that, in the end, justifies the fee and the loyalty.
A holistic vision of hotel well-being
For Simon Casson, the approach to well-being is global. It begins in the room, with optimal sleep quality: mattresses, real blackout curtains (and not just their appearance), absence of warning lights, acoustic insulation, air quality… He insists that a hotelier must experience a room at night to understand what the customer is experiencing at 3am.
It extends to a capacity for movement: space in the room for yoga or exercise, light weights, access to fitness programs on TV. And of course, it’s embodied in the nutritional offer: healthy, tasty food, adapted to the needs of our customers, without sacrificing pleasure.
Finally, there are the traditional areas: spa, fitness room, treatments… but these are only the apex of a pyramid whose base is attention to detail.
The final word: putting people first
“You have to meet the customer where they are. This phrase sums up the spirit of Simon Casson: human, empathetic, adaptive hospitality. Hotels have a unique opportunity: today’s customers are more open than ever to well-being, longevity and improving their daily lives. But the offer must be sincere, coherent and supported by a genuine vision.
In an industry where luxury can no longer just be seen, but must be felt, well-being is becoming more than just a trend: it’s a fundamental requirement, a lasting commitment, and perhaps, a new definition of modern hospitality.
Delporte Hospitality support: making hospitality a sustainable and profitable strategy
At Delporte Hospitality, we share this conviction: emotion is a strategic lever, and well-being can only be effective if it is integrated coherently into the entire customer experience. Our approach is based on generous hospitality, i.e. hospitality that begins at the entrance, is embodied in everyday gestures, and extends to the way we think about spaces, teams and our relationship with time.
We work with hotel managers, architects and investors to develop a holistic approach that includes diagnosing the hospitality experience, providing strategic support, training, coaching, structuring the wellness offer, and analyzing the emotional and operational profitability of projects. Far from standardized solutions, we work with each customer to build a tailor-made project, in line with their vision, constraints and ambitions. Because a spa, a room or a reception area are never neutral: they express what you want people to feel. And that’s where the value begins.