Interview: Behind Belmond's Rebrand of Iconic Orient-Express Name

Jettisoning one of the most storied hotel brands in history comes with its detractors. When the Orient-Express collection of hotels, trains and riverboats was rebranded as Belmond in February, more than a few people questioned or lamented the decision. Airbnb hospitality guru Chip Conley, for example, tweeted “What a branding mistake!!!” People are sometimes going to look at a brand reinvention of this magnitude sideways, but the simple fact is that the Orient-Express flag was tired. Bearing a name conjuring up images of Kipling, Conrad, and other nostalgic detritus of British Imperialism, it tracked zero with younger generations, and not very well with older travelers either. "Belmond"—combining the French words for “beautiful” and “world”—delivers a branding sweet spot marrying the required gravitas and breezy international esprit. Of primary importance to the company's top brass, they wanted a name that didn't take itself too seriously. Also, unlike the former brand, the Belmond name is open to individual interpretation, while still evoking a sense of romantic adventure inherent in the hotel and travel product portfolio. "The name itself, we like to think of as an empty vessel that we create a story within," says Ralph Aruzza, chief sales/marketing officer at Belmond. "And we wanted to make sure that whatever name we chose really resonated with our culture, our legacy, what we've done in the past, and our collection of products, which is very different from a typical group." Iconic Belmond properties such as Copacabana Palace in Rio, Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Hotel Ritz in Madrid and others almost define their destinations. They’re imprimaturs stamped into the history and geography of these cities since the early days of their modern development. So the rebrand came with a hefty sense of responsibility. The new Belmond website launched last week with a fresh, visual-intensive, multimedia presentation. A first for the brand, all of the individual hotel and travel product websites have been redesigned to align with the corporate site. A lot of people said a lot of things about the Belmond rebrand since February's release. We spo