Belmond’s Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is getting a new routing, but if it’s not to your liking, you can create your own customized journey. It’s also getting new, younger followers.
Starting at the end of next year, there will be an overnight journey between Paris and Courchevel, leaving the City of Lights in the afternoon and arriving the next day at Bourg-Saint-Maurice, about 30 minutes from the alpine ski resort. You can book the trip in either direction.
A Grand Suite on the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which is being shown to travel agents and the … [+]
The 17-car luxury train that inspired Agatha Christie to write “Murder on the Orient Express” includes three restaurant coaches, a bar car, two staff cars and 11 more coaches with accommodations for up to 120 guests in total.
Two cars feature three Grand Suites each and there are seven cars that have eight cabins per coach. A key difference is the historic coaches don’t have ensuite showers. New will be two cars converted from the historic layout at an investment of $6 million. They will have four suites per coach, all with their own ensuite showers and toilets.
Belmond Senior Vice President, Global Head of Brand, Marketing and Communications Arnaud Champenois says the train and the brand are benefiting from the extensive resources of parent LVMH Moët Hennessy, which completed its $3.2 billion purchase of the group in 2019.
Belmond, which was founded in 1976 as Orient Express until it rebranded in 2014, is a collection of one-of-a-kind hotels, trains, river cruises and safari lodges
LVMH, which tallied a record 64.2 billion euros in revenues across its 75 brands in 2021, generated an operating free cash flow of more than 13 billion euros last year.
Champenois says Belmond’s new owner provides the opportunity for “organic collaborations” across its various maisons. For example, the Maroma Resort on Mexico’s Riviera Maya will reopen after an extensive renovation next year with the first Guerlain spa in Latin America.
Belmond, in turn, gives the luxury powerhouse and its principal owner Bernard Arnault an ample canvas to gain more dollars from wealthy consumers, who are increasingly seeking customized experiences.
Arnault, France’s richest man with a current net worth estimated at $185.2 billion by Forbes, is known for his deft touch when it comes to elevating acquisitions and attracting the younger wealthy. He also bought American luxury icon Tiffany & Co. for $15.8 billion in 2021. Other notable brands range from its namesake to Dior and Fendi, watchmaker Hublot and Dom Perignon champagne.
According to Bain & Company, today’s UHNW consumers are increasingly seeking more personalization, which could be a good thing for both LVMH and Belmond.
While its trains operate on set schedules, it’s possible to arrange a full takeover, a business Gary Franklin, Belmond’s Vice President, Trains & Cruises, says is “very healthy.” Think birthdays, anniversaries and family reunions.
You can go “pretty much wherever there are tracks,” limited only by availability and the 16 countries the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is authorized to operate. They include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and Turkey.
Most interesting to see will be if LVMH’s stewardship can attract a new generation of well-heeled younger luxury consumers as it has with other brands it acquired.
Early signs are positive. Vloggers are increasingly featuring its luxury trains in their YouTube videos, often generating hundreds of thousands of views.
One Generation Z vlogger who posts under Trek Trendy and is seen wearing a NASA hoody with Timberland boots generated 5.2 million views from his video report earlier this year. The vloggers pay their own way, according to a spokesperson. “They show up like any other guest,” she says. Trek Trendy followed up with a trip report from another Belmond train, the Royal Scotsman. Within three days of posting, there were over 520,000 views.