From 10th March, 2014, the luxury hotel, train and experience operator, Orient-Express will re-brand itself to become Belmond. It is hoped that the new name will help increase brand recognition and improve customer loyalty. The company will be investing $5 million into the new brand this year, with a further $10 million over the following four years.
SNCF who currently own the Orient-Express name, licence it to Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Ltd and the name will be kept for the iconic and luxurious Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train which travels throughout Europe between the months of March and November.
However, we understand that the other Orient-Express trains, namely the Belmond British Pullman, and the The Royal Scotsman will now come under the Belmond brand.
"We are excited to launch the Belmond brand, which will heighten awareness of our exceptional collection of hotels and luxury travel experiences among existing and potential new guests," said John M. Scott, president and chief executive officer, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. "Extending our global brand presence by having a name that will be associated as much with our hotels and river cruises as with our celebrated train experiences is a key step in our focus of generating enhanced revenue," said Scott. "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."
"Belmond was chosen after extensive research and evaluation of a number of alternatives in order to identify a name that resonates well with our guests and that encompasses the global collection of unique experiences we are today," said Ralph Aruzza, chief sales and marketing officer.
Author - Jeff Paulett