Luxury hospitality company Belmond’s story began in 1976 when its former incarnation, Orient-Express Hotels, acquired Hotel Cipriani in Venice. Since then, Belmond has established a sprawling footprint with 47 properties (hotels, trains, river cruises and safaris) spread across the globe. Many of these have become icons in their own right, like its famed luxury train Venice Simplon-Orient Express, Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, the Oxfordshire retreat helmed by renowned chef Raymond Blanc and the stately Copacabana Palace on Rio de Janeiro’s beachfront, which just celebrated its centenary. Closer to home, Belmond’s fabled Eastern & Oriental Express returned to the rails in Southeast Asia in February this year with newly refurbished interiors, itineraries and menus, with the latter designed by its new culinary creator, Andre Chiang.
Arnaud Champenois, senior vice president, global brand, marketing and communications at Belmond, has been pivotal in shaping the company’s long-term brand and marketing strategy. Champenois was previously based in Singapore for eight years and now works in London, where he continues to drive Belmond’s global presence and innovative strategy, which he outlined during a recent visit here.
MOVING FROM “QUIET LUXURY” TO “SLOW LUXURY”
According to Champenois, today’s luxury traveller wants to “recapture time”, which can mean reconnecting with friends and family, enjoying a great meal or gazing leisurely at the landscape from a train. It also means rethinking our mindset of getting to a place as quickly as possible, instead turning the journey itself into part of our holiday.
“If you wanted to go to Venice from Europe, you could get there in an hour on a plane, or you could take the train (like the Venice Simplon-Orient Express) over 24 hours,” said Champenois. “It’s an entirely different experience because train travel is not that different from time travel – it’s like being in a time capsule which also happens to include a great culinary experience.”
