Advisory
120+ Brands

Ambition into value. Places into destinations. Ideas into experiences people remember.

Through Think Hospitality, the consultancy I co-founded, we work with hotel groups, restaurant brands, developers and investors on the questions that decide whether a concept, a site or a whole destination actually works. Twenty-five years of operating, advising and investing sits behind every brief.

Guinness Storehouse, Dublin
What we consult on

Six things clients bring us in for.

Most briefs are a combination rather than a single discipline. The common thread is commercial: strategy that has to survive contact with an operating business, not a deck that looks good and stops there.

Brand strategy & positioning

Defining what a brand stands for, who it is genuinely for, and how it earns a place in a crowded market. Positioning that operators can actually deliver.

Concept development

Creating new formats from a standing start, or reworking existing ones. Occasion, menu, service model, design brief and commercial model together, not in isolation.

Placemaking

Hospitality at the scale of a district or destination. What goes where, how people move through it, and what makes them stay rather than pass through.

Commercial due diligence

Sitting on the investor side of the table. Assessing brands, operators and deals on what the numbers rest on and where the operational risk actually sits.

F&B advisory

Food and beverage strategy for hotels, resorts and mixed use schemes. Operator selection, deal structuring and getting F&B to earn its floor space.

Growth & expansion

Taking a proven concept into new markets or new formats. Where to go, in what order and what has to change to travel well.

Selected work

Six that show the range.

Saudi Arabia

Expo 2030 Riyadh

Hospitality vision, masterplanning and programme development for this 6,000,000 m² site across five distinct districts.

Estonia

Eha Retreat

Lead strategy and development consultants for this pioneering wellness retreat, from ideation through to project delivery.

Global

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts

Global F&B revenue optimisation and menu development programme across a portfolio of 90+ properties.

UAE

Emirates Leisure Retail

Growth strategy defining core competencies, mapping global trends, evaluating 100+ brands and shortlisting scalable partners across key markets.

Ireland

Guinness Storehouse

F&B strategic visioning and operator selection for one of Europe’s most visited attractions.

Saudi Arabia

Wadi Safar

F&B vision, masterplanning and five outlet concepts for DarGlobal’s golf-led destination, spanning a hotel, restaurant precinct and golf clubhouse.

Also

A wider selection.

Jamie Oliver Group
Concept portfolio review, definition and strategy development to drive global expansion opportunities
UK
Petersham Nurseries
Interim leadership and turnaround across the group’s restaurant and retail operation
UK
Aida Oman
F&B vision and masterplanning for Muscat’s US$2.4bn flagship destination, across a community centre, golf clubhouse and two hotels
Oman
Tigermilk
Market localisation programme guiding UK entry, advising the founders on brand DNA, positioning and localisation
UK
Tasha’s
UK market entry support ahead of the launch of Tashas Cafe at Battersea Power Station
UK
Viru Keskus
F&B masterplan for Estonia’s busiest mall, creating six zones with a food hall centrepiece and driving record visitor numbers
Estonia
UHNW Superyacht
Hospitality and crew wellbeing consulting and masterplanning for a new build
Confidential
Tourism Australia
Food tourism strategy for the national tourism body
Australia
EBRD
Commercial due diligence on a Serbian hospitality asset
Serbia
Arc Inspirations
Transformed a legacy student bar into The Box, a scalable sports bar brand with nationwide expansion potential
UK
Think Hospitality

The consulting work lives at Think Hospitality.

Think Hospitality is the boutique hospitality, real estate and brand consultancy I co-founded. A senior team, no juniors learning on your project, and a global client base of hotel groups, private equity investors, developers and operators.

If you have a brief, that is where to start. The site sets out the full range of services, the team and the case studies in detail.

120+
Brands worked with
25
Years in hospitality
20+
Countries a year

james.hacon@thinkhospitality.co.uk