Belmond has announced its intention to reopen global operations, beginning with its Italian properties in June, and implementing a series of new safety protocols.
The company has also announced a new augmented reality (AR) Instagram filter that showcases the Belmond collection.
During a Zoom call on May 20, 2020, Roeland Vos, CEO and president of Belmond, addressed the challenging time for the industry and looked ahead to a more promising phase, which 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,” said Belmond in the Zoom call. “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.”
Belmond Hotel Splendido and Belmond Hotel Cipriani will open first on June 19, followed by Belmond Charleston Place on June 25, Belmond Hotel Caruso and Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo on July 1, Belmond Cadogan Hotel on July 4, Venice Simplon-Orient-Express on July 8, and Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons on July 14.
The company is working with in-house experts and in close collaboration with leading health and hygiene authorities. Further details on Belmond’s enhanced protocols can be found here.
Until the travel world fully resumes, Belmond has also launched a new augmented reality (AR) filter for Instagram called ‘Travel Dreams,’ a randomized filter to transport users on a virtual tour to each of Belmond’s destinations. The filter asks the question ‘Which Belmond destination are you dreaming of?’ and 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.
“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,” said Arnaud Champenois, s.v.p brand and marketing at Belmond.
The company also created individual filters for each of its properties. The Belmond filter is downloadable directly from the effects tab on Belmond’s Instagram account and on the individual property Instagram profiles.
For more information visit belmond.com.
