PHOTO: Orient-Express, now newly renamed as Belmond, acquired and renovated the El Encanto hotel in Santa Barbara, Calif., last year. (Photo courtesy of Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.)
Over the past 30 years Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. has become known as one of the most famous brands in luxury travel. Named after the famed luxury European train, the company has gone on to encompass boutique hotels, other iconic trains, a well-known New York restaurant and even a river cruise product in Myanmar.
But now, in a surprise about-face announced over the weekend, its board has voted to change the company's name. On Feb. 24, Orient-Express said its board had approved a proposal to operate its luxury hotels and travel experiences under a new name, Belmond, effective March 10.
According to the company, the new name is designed to increase brand recognition in order to drive growth by attracting new guests and stimulating repeat visits from existing customers across its hotel and travel product collection. Orient-Express also said it selected the new name to enhance customer loyalty and its identity as a provider of one-of-a-kind luxury experiences.
Under the company's new branding strategy, the name Belmond will appear in smaller letter above each of its properties, both owned and managed hotels and luxury products. The destination name will appear just below the product name.
Orient-Express, now Belmond, said it expects to invest $5 million in its new brand during the first year, with another $10 million expected to be invested over the next four years. This investment will include a new website platform, re-engineered customer relationship management tools, and the company's first ever large-scale print and online media advertising campaign. Starting March 10, the orient-express.com website will redirect to belmond.com.
"Belmond will reflect the full breadth of our luxury portfolio, including hotels, safaris, river cruses and trains," said John Scott, president and chief executive officer of Orient-Express.
Scott said strengthening the company's brand architecture also will make the company more attractive to individual hotel owners as it seeks to expand its third-party management program for hotels and other luxury travel products.
According to Scott, Belmond's goal is to have a balanced portfolio of key gateway cities and resort destinations. Most of the company's focus is in the leisure market, but Scott said it would work to boost its presence in three gateway cities in particular: London, New York and Rome.
One of the challenges with the Orient-Express brand, according to Scott, is that the company never fully owned the name on its own, but licensed it from French rail company SNCF. That made it more difficult to continue to invest in the Orient-Express brand for the future.
"Migrating from a licensed brand to one which we fully own and control will, we believe, deliver an additional benefit to the company as it will enable us to invest with confidence in our brand," Scott said.
According to Ralph Aruzza, Orient-Express' chief sales and marketing officer, who joined the company less than a year ago from Rosewood Hotels, the Belmond name was chosen after extensive research and evaluation of a number of alternatives.
Some 650 names were considered before they were whittled down to four distinct choices, according to Aruzza. He said the company wanted to identify a name that resonated well with the company's guests and truly encompassed its global collection of luxury travel experiences.
Aruzza also said Orient-Express's travel agent board also had asked for a new umbrella brand so it would be easier to cross-sell the company's collection of luxury properties. Currently only 3 percent of the company's guests book other parts of its luxury collection. The initial goal is to double that percentage, which will significantly enhance revenue.
Belmond also will begin a more intensive customer relationship management program later this year to identify and sell to its existing guests. According to Aruzza, that could result in a new guest loyalty program being introduced as early as next year.
One brand that won't change, however, is the existing Orient-Express train in Europe. The newly renamed Belmond will retain its long-term license agreement with SNCF, the French rail company, for its famed Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train. On the other hand, the company also entered into an agreement with SNCF to terminate the existing Orient-Express license for hotel use without any cost or penalty.
The newly renamed Belmond will include 45 hotel, rail and river cruise experiences worldwide. For example, the collection includes Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg, Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro, Maroma Resort and Spa on Mexico's Riviera Maya, and the new El Encanto resort in Santa Barbara. Calif.
Belmond also encompasses safaris; six luxury tourist trains, including the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express and two trains in Machu Picchu, Peru; and three river cruises, including the Road to Mandalay in Myanmar. In addition the company also operates New York City's famed "21" restaurant.
PHOTO: The famed Venice Simplon Orient-Express will retain its name, but remain part of Belmond's luxury product portfolio. (Courtesy of Orient-Express Hotels Ltd.)
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