Roeland Vos, CEO and President announced the company’s intention to reopen global operations, starting with its iconic Italian properties next month, along with new protocols that will be implemented across its 46 hotels, trains, river cruises and safari lodges. Until travel is possible again, Belmond also announced a new augmented reality (AR) filter, aptly titled Travel Dreams, on Instagram to inspire future trips with a randomizing filter that transports users through the Belmond collection.
During a Zoom call on May 20, 2020, Roeland addressed the challenging time for the industry and looked ahead to a more promising phase, what the brand is calling ‘Tomorrow Time,’ once travel resumes.
“The challenge of today’s global pandemic will not stop us from re-imagining the future of luxury travel. If anything, it has encouraged us to go further and evolve faster. Since the outbreak began, our colleagues have shown countless acts of kindness, devotion and selfless care. And there have been many remarkable moments of innovation. I want to thank our teams around the world for their tireless dedication and support throughout this time, and as we look ahead now to the first phase of re-openings, I know that our guests will once again experience moments of magic, among those who matter most,” Roeland remarked. Please find a recording of the full Zoom event here.
Beginning June 19, Belmond intends to resume operations at several properties in Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. Belmond will also continue to closely monitor the latest guidance and regulations from governments and world health authorities to ensure the guests’ safety and comfort. For the extended flexible booking policy and terms and conditions, please visit the Belmond website at Belmond.com.
- Belmond Hotel Splendido and Belmond Hotel Cipriani – June 19
- Belmond Charleston Place – June 25
- Belmond Hotel Caruso and Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo – July 1
- Belmond Cadogan Hotel – July 4
- Venice Simplon-Orient-Express – July 8
- Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons – July 14
For more than 40 years, Belmond has been redefining and reshaping the travel experience and will continue to reach new levels of excellence in both health and hygiene as well as incomparable service. Belmond will remain uncompromising in its cleanliness with dedicated in-house experts working in close collaboration with leading health and hygiene authorities. Further details on Belmond’s enhanced protocols can be found on the website here.
Until the travel world resumes, Belmond has also launched a new augmented reality (AR) filter for Instagram, ‘Travel Dreams,’ to continue to inspire wanderlust in the virtual world. Introduced by Arnaud Champenois, SVP Brand and Marketing, during the Zoom event on Wednesday, the Travel Dreams effect is a randomized filter to transport users on a virtual tour to each of Belmond’s destinations. Asking the question ‘Which Belmond destination are you dreaming of?’ the filter then chooses a destination – from the terrace overlooking Mount Etna at Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo to the Art Deco carriages of Venice Simplon-Orient-Express to the pool at Belmond La Residence d’Angkor. Belmond has also created individual filters for each of the iconic properties. The Belmond filter is downloadable directly from the effects tab on Belmond’s Instagram account and on the individual property Instagram profiles.
“With Instagram being the new ‘Lonely Planet’ in the way people search for travel inspiration – we wanted to create a playful way to keep the dream alive,” comments Arnaud.
This follows Belmond’s new Tomorrow Time Travel Pass – a travel voucher to start planning future getaways. With no expiration date and available to use across the collection, travelers-to-be will receive a bonus $100 voucher when purchasing a $500 gift card or a $200 voucher when spending over $1,000. To purchase a gift card, please visit the Belmond website here.