The hotel group Orient Express is getting ready to change its name and adopt the umbrella brand Belmond Hotels. Only the name Orient-Express, owned by SNCF, will be subject to a licensing agreement for the legendary VSOE, that connects London to Venice and Istanbul.
The board of administration of the British group Orient-Express, based in the Bahamas, approved the decision to adopt a new umbrella brand - Belmond Hotels - to accompany each of its luxury properties.
"This decision was made in order to advance in our strategy of expanding into the third-party management of assets that complement our existing collection," indicates John M. Scott, President and CEO of the Orient-Express Group. "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 and improve relations with property owners that wish to entrust us with the management of their hotel."
The choice of the name Belmond Hotel was made after a long study to find a brand that suggested luxury and refinement and could be the signature of the group's 45 current hotels worldwide.
And yet, the name Orient-Express will not totally disappear form the group's communications since the long-term license agreement was renewed with the French firm SNCF, owner of the name, to preserve the designation Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express for the luxury train that regularly runs between London and Istanbul via Venice. Venice, the city where the group was born after the takeover of the Hotel Cipriani by the owner of Sea Containers, followed by other legendary properties such as the Copacabana in Rio.
"This decision was made in order to advance in our strategy of expanding into the third-party management of assets that complement our existing collection," indicates John M. Scott, President and CEO of the Orient-Express Group. "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 and improve relations with property owners that wish to entrust us with the management of their hotel."
The choice of the name Belmond Hotel was made after a long study to find a brand that suggested luxury and refinement and could be the signature of the group's 45 current hotels worldwide.
And yet, the name Orient-Express will not totally disappear form the group's communications since the long-term license agreement was renewed with the French firm SNCF, owner of the name, to preserve the designation Venice-Simplon-Orient-Express for the luxury train that regularly runs between London and Istanbul via Venice. Venice, the city where the group was born after the takeover of the Hotel Cipriani by the owner of Sea Containers, followed by other legendary properties such as the Copacabana in Rio.
