AccorHotels announced on Wednesday it is taking a 50% stake in the share capital of Orient Express, until now fully owned by SNCF Group, and intends to develop a new collection of hotels under the fabled Orient Express banner.
HOTELS first reported in April 2014 that SNFC, the French transportation company that owned the Orient Express trademark, agreed with Orient-Express Hotels (since rebranded as Belmond) to terminate their long-standing hotel license agreement and planned to license the legendary brand to create a new collection of hotels.
In the deal just announced, 134 years to the day after the first Orient Express trip between Paris and Constantinople (October 4, 1883), SNCF Group has a new partner to develop the brand within the luxury hospitality sector globally.
In addition to developing a new hotel collection, the seven historic train carriages, symbols of French Art Deco, will remain the physical property of the state-owned rail group and will be operated by Orient Express for private journeys and events. They will provide a new setting for the organization of events, which may be held in collaboration with AccorHotels’ other businesses such as Potel & Chabot, Noctis and John Paul.
AccorHotels and SNCF Group are also together committed to preserving, promoting and sharing the heritage connected with the legendary train and its history through the Orient Express Endowment Fund, a public interest body whose aim is to encourage and support awareness-building initiatives to benefit a wide audience in the field of the arts and culture.
“We are delighted with this strategic partnership, which today cements the alliance of two major French players in the world of travel for a shared purpose, that of giving fresh impetus and international standing to an historic and world-renowned brand,” said Sébastien Bazin, chairman and CEO of AccorHotels. “Thanks to this partnership, our customers will be able to enjoy a prestigious range of services and exceptional experiences based on a portfolio of luxury brands.”
“SNCF Group is proud to have contributed to the renaissance of this historic brand and we intend to continue our involvement and provide our expertise, acquired over the past 80 years in the field of rail engineering, to help develop this project,” said Mathias Vicherat, SNCF Group’s Deputy CEO in charge of the Corporate Project, Communication and Image. “Through our heritage policy, we will be actively involved in promoting this legendary train to the widest audience. The interest shown today by AccorHotels bears witness to the relevance of the project which has been supported since 2008 by our Chairman Guillaume Pepy.”