Experience, Creativity & Trust

As the principal of Thorne & Co, I believe the future of hospitality lies in the space between brand and operations, where story, service, and strategy align to create lasting value. My role is to ensure we deliver on that promise commercially, not just creatively.

Our clients don’t need theory - they need traction. Whether we’re repositioning an underperforming asset, building a brand from scratch, or refining guest experience at scale, we work with owners and operators to bring commercial clarity and practical execution to every stage of the project.

Our Collective brings together senior professionals in branding, design, commercial strategy, and PR. They’ve shaped standout identities, secured meaningful media coverage, and added value across hospitality, property, and lifestyle sectors. Whether it’s a boutique retreat or a larger-scale development, we focus on delivering creative depth with commercial purpose, ensuring each project stands out and performs.

Based between the UK and Italy, we also advise on regional growth opportunities and concept viability, particularly where lifestyle hospitality meets heritage and destination. We reflect that ethos, bringing experience-rich thinking to a market hungry for new stories, smarter operations, and measurable returns.

Steve Thorne - CEO

The Team

Our leadership team and ever-growing Collective model is built on trust, experience, and a shared belief in doing things well. Led by Steve Thorne, with senior input from Sean Rafter, we combine creative depth with commercial clarity, offering clients thoughtful, execution-ready solutions grounded in real-world understanding.

We’re a niche, focused group with wide-ranging backgrounds in hospitality, development, brand, and strategy. What unites us is a commitment to delivering standout results - not just ideas, but outcomes. That means every perspective is valued, every angle considered, and every detail carefully shaped.

We work transparently, collaborate openly, and take pride in our ability to think clearly in complex spaces. It’s how we like to work, with each other, our clients and partners.

  • Steve brings over 30 years of experience across the hospitality sector, from launching boutique hotels such as the acclaimed central London hotel The Pilgrm, to scaling luxury serviced apartment platforms such as Grosvenor House Apartments on Park Lane. His strategic insight into what drives performance - and where businesses lose momentum - underpins his approach to partnership and delivery.

    With a career spanning respected brands including InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), Four Seasons, MyHotels, The Ascott Limited, and The Zetter Group, Steve offers both operational depth and commercial credibility. His background allows him to work fluently across investor, developer, and operational teams, ensuring alignment from vision through to execution.

  • Sean brings a background in design-led residential development, having built a strong reputation in West London through independent ventures and joint partnerships. Now focused on hospitality, he applies his expertise in brand creation and the strategic leveraging of intellectual property to elevate hotel concepts and unlock commercial value.

    As the architect and manager of the Thorne&Co Collective, Sean curates a trusted network of specialists, bringing together strategic, creative, and operational expertise to support each project from concept to delivery.