COVER STORY
A Romantic Suite bedroom at Corinthia Rome , scheduled to open in summer 2025 .
The lobby of Corinthia Rome .
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 . Hotels like Brussels and Bucharest ,
The main pool within ESPA Life at Corinthia London . 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 .”
32 hotelsmag . com Mar / Apr 2025