Misplaced Pages

This article contains promotional content. Please help improve it by removing promotional language and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic text written from a neutral point of view. (September 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Belmond Ltd.

Formerly	Orient-Express Hotels Ltd
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Hospitality
Founded	1976
Headquarters	Hamilton, Bermuda
Key people	Roeland Vos (Chairman) Dan Ruff (CEO)
Services	Hotels, trains, cruises, restaurants
Revenue	US$ 576.84 million (2018)
Parent	LVMH
Website	www.belmond.com

Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels Ltd) is a hospitality and leisure company that operates hotels, train services and river cruises and safaris worldwide. In 2024, the company has 47 properties in 28 countries and territories, with 32 hotels, six tourist trains, seven river cruise boats and two safaris.

History

The company was founded in 1976 by the American entrepreneur James Sherwood with the acquisition of the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Italy, from the Guinness family for £900,000. Sherwood then bought a number of carriages from the original Orient Express train, which he restored and used to offer rides from Paris and London to his hotel in Venice, thus the former name of the company. Much of the history of the company is documented in Sherwood's memoir Orient Express: A Personal Journey.

On 10 March 2014, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd was renamed Belmond, and on 1 July 2014, Belmond's holding company was also renamed Belmond Ltd.

In April 2015, Belmond partnered with Irish Rail to launch the train Belmond Grand Hibernian in Ireland. In July 2016, Indian Hotels Company Limited sold most of its 5.1% stake in Belmond, retaining only 0.44% after the sale.

In December 2018, the company agreed to be acquired by LVMH in a $3.2 billion transaction which would delist the company from the New York Stock Exchange and make it 100% privately owned. The announcement of the sale led Belmond's share price to increase by 40% in a day. The deal closed in April 2019.

Belmond has continued to grow its portfolio in Italy. In September 2021, it acquired Villa Beatrice in Portofino. In February 2023, the company announced an agreement with Sardegna Resorts S.r.l to manage Romazzino in Sardinia.

It has also added a cluster of new properties in Mexico. In August 2023, Belmond re-opened Maroma following a redesign, in which ten beachfront suites were added. In June 2023 it entered into an agreement with Cora Pacific Development to open Milaroca, a hotel on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, in 2025. In December 2023, the company announced that it had acquired Hacienda Katanchel in Mexico, with a planned opening in 2027.

In December 2022, Belmond announced a ten-year plan to upgrade its properties, which it had already begun with the renovation of Splendido Mare in 2021. Upgrades have included renovations and refurbishments to its trains. In October 2021, Belmond launched a train carriage designed by film director Wes Anderson on the British Pullman train. In 2023, the company also launched a Dior Spa on The Royal Scotsman.

In 2024, the company returned the Eastern & Oriental Express to service, after the train service was paused during the pandemic. The company also launched a Dior Spa aboard, and unveiled a sleeper carriage for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, designed by French street artist JR. The carriage was presented at the 2024 Venice Biennale.

Properties

Hotels

Transportation

Other formerly operated trains

• Great South Pacific Express (1999-2003) in Australia between Kuranda, Queensland and Sydney. Its carriages were transferred to the Belmond Andean Explorer after its demise.
• Belmond Northern Belle (2000-2017) in the Central and Northern regions of Great Britain. Sold to West Coast Railways as a new operator.
• Belmond Grand Hibernian (2016-2021) in Ireland.

Restaurants

Notes and references

Notes

1. ^ All Cusco and Macchu Picchu Hotels are a 50% Joint Venture with Peruvian shareholding company Peru Hotel Macchu Picchu SA (Peru Belmond Hotels SA)
2. (since May 2017) In 50% partnership with the Peruvian shareholder company Peruvian Trains and Railways SA
3. Belmond has a 50% interest in PeruRail.

References

1. Company 10-Q
2. "Belmond revenue". www.craft.co. Archived from the original on 9 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
3. "Belmond Ltd. - SEC". Sec.gov. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
4. "Belmond's founder deserves his place in its history". Ft.com. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
5. "Interview: Behind Belmond's Rebrand of Iconic Orient-Express Name". Skift.com. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
6. Vora, Shivani (14 March 2014). "Orient-Express Hotels Gets a New Name". Intransit.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
7. "Log In". Wsj.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
8. "Bloomberg". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
9. "Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. Changes Corporate Name to Belmond Ltd". Hotelnewsresource.com. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
10. Eoin Burke-Kennedy (22 April 2015). "'Orient Express' company Belmond jumps tracks to Ireland". Irishtimes.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
11. Ravi Teja Sharma (2 July 2016). "Tata-owned India Hotels sells 5.1 per cent stake in Belmond for $49.57 million". Indiatimes.com. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
12. Rupert Neate (14 December 2018). "Orient Express sold to owner of Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
13. Travis Hoium (14 December 2018). "Why Belmond Ltd's Shares Jumped 40% Today". Fool.com}. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
14. "LVMH buys Belmond hotel group for $3.2 bn, including Machu Picchu and Cusco hotels". News from Peru - Peruvian Times. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
15. "Villa Beatrice a Portofino, il gioiello immerso nel polmone verde del Parco di Portofino". Harper's BAZAAR (in Italian). 7 December 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
16. Hanson, Eloise (10 February 2023). "LVMH signs management of two Sardinia hotels". Boutique Hotel News.
17. Forshaw, Irenie (10 August 2023). "Belmond's Maroma Unveils Extensive Redesign". Elite Traveler. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
18. Rogers, Cara (27 June 2023). "Milaroca, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Nayarit to open in 2025". Sleeper. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
19. "2027 Opening Planned for Katanchel, A Belmond Hotel, Mexico". Hospitality Net. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
20. "Deux nouveaux directeurs de division chez Belmond". Hospitality ON (in French). Retrieved 28 August 2024.
21. O'Hare, Maureen (14 October 2021). "Wes Anderson has designed a luxury Belmond train carriage". CNN. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
22. Ayling, Kim (12 April 2023). "The Royal Scotsman Introduces Dior Spa Carriage". Elite Traveler. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
23. "How LVMH exhumed luxury rail with the Eastern & Oriental Express". Australian Financial Review. 19 May 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
24. Chang, Rachel (12 July 2023). "Belmond's Eastern & Oriental Express Is Launching New Train Routes to Malaysia's Most Uniques Landscapes". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
25. "Venice Simplon-Orient-Express Unveils an Over-the-Top Sleeper Carriage". AFAR Media. 1 May 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2024.

External links

• Official website
• • Historical business data for Belmond Ltd.:
  • SEC filings

• Hotel and leisure companies based in London
• Companies of Bermuda
• Cruise lines
• Railway companies of Italy
• Railway companies of the United Kingdom
• Hotel chains in the United Kingdom
• Hospitality companies established in 1976
• Railway companies established in 1976
• 1976 establishments in Italy
• 2019 mergers and acquisitions
• LVMH brands