Small Luxury Hotels CEO: Soft Brands Aren’t Hurting Our Business

Filip Boyen is no stranger to the hospitality industry, especially the luxury space. For more than 30 years he has held various positions in luxury hospitality, including serving as the chief operating officer and senior vice president of Belmond, which was formerly known as Orient-Express. As the CEO of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, a collection of more than 500 boutique luxury properties around the world, it's his job to help market, promote, and sell these hotels both to consumers and to the trade. Boyen took the post in July 2015 after six years at Belmond. Boyen is the kind of executive who isn't afraid to tell you what's on his mind. A case in point? When he suggested that AccorHotels purchase his former company as part of AccorHotels' push to reinvent the Orient-Express brand. "I hope they will buy Belmond," Boyen said of AccorHotels. "Belmond needs to get off the table. Bowen said he told an AccorHotels official the other day, "Instead of creating your own Orient-