The Dolphin Approach
Dolphin specializes in hospitality investment and development and in crafting the best product concept and brand positioning to match a respective market, be that a resort location or a gateway city.
Dolphin has demonstrated an edge in developing ultra-luxury residential resorts that combine the finest architecture with world class brands in naturally pristine locations.
With a focused but adaptable business model and a strong management team, Dolphin’s expertise lies in working alongside leading international hotel operators and, where appropriate, maximizing value through branded residential sales.
Through the experience gained from several investments and developments, we are able to provide turnkey development services to third party investors from inception all the way to completion.
Dolphin’s experience ensures that the owners will successfully develop a hospitality project by saving time and cost.
Among the challenges our Team has faced and successfully dealt with are:
- Country factors such as bureaucracy, local planning/administration and workforce
- Remote location challenges of developing on islands and hard-to-access sites
- Value engineering and construction strategy to improve budget
- Brand standards and architect’s demands
- Cost control and schedule management
- Difficult procurement process and global sourcing
- Handling and coordinating multiple service providers
- ROI maximization through effective project cost control, efficient development execution and successful exit.
Expertise
Dolphin offers a holistic management experience covering the entire development and asset management lifecycle of a project. Being investors and developers ourselves, we know how important it is to complete projects on time and within budget. We provide a comprehensive strategy and actively manage and supervise all areas of Development.
Our expertise includes:
Development Management
- Validate project strategy and evaluate saleability of residential real estate
- Assist in set-up of corporate structure, legal & tax optimization
- Set up and continuously monitor budget for hotel and residential construction, including design, permitting, and specialised studies
- Prepare timetables and schedule of each development phase and action
- Oversee the local teams and manage all service providers
- Supervise, lead and manage day to day communications with the architect and the entire design team
- Oversee building permit revision
- Value engineering of designs to optimise budget
- Manage competitive bid tender process for the hiring of contractors, including tender documentation, tender process execution and tender administration
- Review bids for conformance and negotiate with preferred bidders
- Handle all issues with hotel operator
- Negotiate all relevant service, construction and operating contracts
- Monthly comprehensive progress reporting
Design Management
- Negotiate agreements with all consultants
- Appoint and guide master-planners, lead architects, and designers to create site masterplan and project concept
- Supervise, lead and manage day to day communications with the architect and the entire design team
- Evaluation of the concept and financial feasibility
- Value engineering of designs to optimise budget
- Liaise between local teams and international architect to ensure alignment with local requirements and particularities
- Conversion of international architect designs into local permit applications requirements
Permitting
- Formulation of permitting strategy
- Supervise preparation of all studies required including environmental impact assessment
- Owner’s representation and follow-up of decisions / public approvals
- Review & submit studies for approval
- Coordination of permitting consultants
- Supervise preparation of additional supporting studies / reports / layouts
- Oversee building permits
Construction
- Direct construction management team to supervise contractors for overall construction and individual phases or components
- Optimise construction strategy to reduce budget (modular construction for remote locations, competitive tender process)
- Monitor FF&E and OS&E procurement to reduce costs, including tender documents and coordination with architectural team and hotel operator
- Oversee contractor progress schedule and make recommendations for payments as per agreed milestones
- Lead and oversee corporate and project financing activities
- Monitor change order management and make recommendations to owners on impacts to budget / cash flow – Cost Reporting
- Ensure quality and safety control procedures are in place
- Review invoices for accuracy and alignment with budget
- Maintain small project management team for first 6-12 months of operation to manage snags
PR & Marketing
- Formulate & implement resort PR strategy
- Lobby with press, stakeholders, municipality, local opinion makers and NGOs
- Formulate & implement marketing plan
- Maintain communication protocols with hotel operator to ensure compliance with applicable standards
- Bolster brand and destination awareness
- Generate traction for hotel nights and villas sales
Residential Sales
- Advise on pricing strategy versus comparable product globally and locally
- Ensure wide visibility of sellable product through all the channels
- Advise on structure of sales contracts, including residential services and owner agreements
- Engage specialized brokers to target appropriate buyer groups
- Train hotel staff to market the villas
- Coordinate with PR / S&M teams of hotel operators and supervise sales team
- Oversee / monitor residential design / construction
- Put together and supervise sales team
On-going Property Asset Management
- Owner representative towards operator
- Review and evaluate proposed annual budgets
- Review annual sales and marketing plan
- Approve / oversee maintenance works
- Liaise on a day-to-day basis with operations team
- Assess proposed staffing
- Prepare monthly and quarterly reports for owner including financial performance, cash flow management, variances to budget etc.
- Monitor property from maintenance standpoint