What’s Next for Belmond?

Skift Senior Hospitality Editor Deanna Ting has written a great explainer on the lay of the land at Belmond, after the luxury operator effectively put itself up for sale last week.

Whenever a company launches some kind of “strategic review,” it’s really code for, “we’re selling the business as long as someone meets our asking price,” and there are plenty of potential suitors.

Might Belmond interest big-spending AccorHotels — this would also help with any confusion relating to the Orient Express name — or perhaps Hyatt fancies it?

But any buyers would do well to read the piece all the way to the end, where Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder and CEO of luxury travel planning company Indagare Travel, explains what makes certain luxury brands so special.

Belmond’s hotels and trains are truly iconic, or as Biggs Bradley puts it: “The kinds of places people mark milestones in their lives at … that dig deep into people’s emotional experiences.”

For feedback or news tips, reach out via email at pw@skift.com or tweet me @paddywhyte.

— Patrick Whyte, Europe Editor

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