INTERVIEW WITH NICOLAS STREFF, VP STRATEGY & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS FOR BELMOND: "SINCE 1976, WE HAVE JUST WRITTEN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF BELMOND"
Belmond is deploying a differentiating strategy aimed at customers who are art lovers or in search of a holiday. Nicolas Streff takes us on a ‘slow tour’ of the group's strengths. |
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INTERVIEW WITH NICOLAS STREFF, VP STRATEGY & CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS FOR BELMOND: "SINCE 1976, WE HAVE JUST WRITTEN THE FIRST CHAPTER OF BELMOND"
Belmond is deploying a differentiating strategy aimed at customers who are art lovers or in search of a holiday. Nicolas Streff takes us on a ‘slow tour’ of the group's strengths. |
Category: Worldwide - Industry economy -
Hotel opening Hotel projects Renovation / Addition - Interviews
Interview made by Vanessa Guerrier-Buisine on 2024-01-19
 Nicolas Streff, VP Strategy & Corporate Communications, Belmond
Photo credit © Belmond
We met Nicolas Streff, VP Strategy & Corporate Communications for the hotel group, in this setting. He joined Belmond after joining LVMH eight years ago from Moët Hennessy, where he worked in marketing. He took us on a journey through time, blending a vision of the future with the heritage of each destination chosen and tamed by the group.Emblematic gardensAmong Belmond's secrets, after the hospitality of the teams, it is the gardens that are the most popular ingredient with customers. From the gardens of the Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, A Belmond Hotel, in the United Kingdom, to the tropical gardens of the Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, in Mexico or Reid's Palace, A Belmond Hotel, in Madeira, to the climbing gardens of the renaissance estate of Villa San Michele, A Belmond Hotel, Florence, the group pays particular attention to the aesthetics of its botanical spaces and to maintaining the biodiversity of each destination where it establishes its properties. The wife of Belmond's founder is herself passionate about botany, and has therefore cultivated this attachment to gardens within Belmond.
It's a story that began with the Hotel Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel, in 1976. “Its gardens, like Casanova's garden, are exceptional,” says Nicolas Streff. “We're going back to the roots of property historywith every project. To redesign gardens, we will understand the local community, the environments, work with teams who know the local botany, with local or even international designers, but with expertise in the local environment,” he adds.
The reputation of Belmond hotels stems also from their commitment to art and to creating large-scale cultural events that take on the identity of each destination. “At Belmond, we think of the property first. Each hotel, each train, each safari is unique, there is not one Belmond approach applied to all properties. Belmond is a curator, it is the link between our properties, and the guarantee of a level of excellence, a level of service”.A multifaceted cultureThe group cultivates a close relationship with local and international artists, notably as part of the MITICO artistic programme, devised in partnership with Galleria Continua. “It's a new opportunity to discuss our properties from a contemporary and universal perspective, while at the same time celebrating their history and heritage. It also allows us to move away from a dusty approach,” enthuses Nicolas Streff.
This year, Belmond has exceptionally entrusted MITICO to a single artist: the French artist Daniel Buren, who will unveil six monumental works in six Belmond properties in Brazil, South Africa, Italy, and Spain. “He has a unique approach to each project. His monumental works or his projects on certain façades or in a garden will each tell a particular story,” explains Nicolas Streff.
The prism of art allows customers to discover the Belmond collection from several angles. This strategy has given rise to a series of books, starting with “Villeggiatura”, which traces the history of the group's Italian portfolio, and continuing with the book dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Copacabana Palace. This 'publishing house' activity has already been implemented by Belmond through the publication of its own annual magazine dedicated to the art of travel, 'Mondes'.
Belmond is making its mark as a hotel group that is “a player in culture, through art and publication”. A series of photographic exhibitions, Belmond Legends, responds to this ambition. “The visual art of photography will play an increasingly important role in the development of the brand,” says Nicolas Streff. The commitment to art reaches its paroxysm in the creation of artists' residences. At La Residencia in Mallorca, “we launched a programme last year, with three artists in residence, who spent a month immersed in the world to create different projects, ranging from visual art to fabric work. We're going to continue this in 2024, and we're potentially going to explore this proposal for other properties”, explains the vice-president in charge of the Group's strategy.
It's a format that harks back to the early days of luxury hotels, when palaces welcomed artists, aristocrats, and politicians for weeks on end. This practice already reflected “the idea of a holiday, of reconnecting with oneself, of disconnecting from the world to come back better, to have a perspective, a connection with what's going on around us”, recalls Nicolas Streff.From slow-travel to time capsulesBelmond has reinvented the quest for slow-travel. The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is experienced as a time capsule by those who take it. A concept of transformative travel perfectly embodied by the development of Belmond trains. “It's actually a time capsule, you go back in time because there's that nostalgic aspect, those childhood dreams. It reconnects you with your childhood and creates unique emotions as you move forward. We're talking about the future of travel - slow travel is the future,” he says.
“In three years, not one customer has told me that they finished their book during their train journey. They generally only read the first page because they take time for themselves, they meet other people on the train during the afternoon-tea, dinner, and so on. People they might never have met in their lives, and yet can become the best of friends. It's a space-time bubble, a transformative experience,” he says.
The slow travel experience, symbolised in particular by the train travel offer, will remain at the heart of the Group's focus in 2024. The emphasis will be on the gastronomic experience, with the arrival of Michelin-starred chef André Chiang on board the Eastern & Oriental Express, A Belmond Train, chef Jorge Muñoz for the Hiram Bingham and Andean Explorer trains in Peru, and the launch of Carriage Club Dinners on board the British Pullman in May 2024, immersive nighttime journeys inspired by the cabaret atmosphere.
The journeys on offer also flirt with the Belmond legend and heritage. “We are relaunching train travel in South-East Asia. It took several years of work to see how we could evolve the experience, and we discovered new routes. We are now offering Malaysia, with two destinations and an exceptional culinary offer,” adds Nicolas Streff.A reasoned strategyThis is a strategy that the Group intends to pursue, and one that it has highlighted by presenting its ambitions for 2024 and beyond. From developing its portfolio to paying more attention to slow-travel, via train or boat trips, and multiplying exceptional experiences, all the while keeping its environmental and social responsibility in the background.
Aware of the privilege of being part of a group that gives itself the means to move forward in a reasoned way, Nicolas Streff reiterates Belmond's ambition to surprise, while taking its time. “We have the luxury of time”, a luxury that makes it possible to spread out a series of renovations over several years, or to open a new property only when it is perfectly in line with Belmond's image and ambitions. “There are expectations, of course, but we also want to understand the destination,” he explains.Mexico and Italy, Belmond's key marketsBelmond has strengthened its presence in Mexico, soon to include four properties, including Milaroca, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Nayarit, which will be built to open in 2025 on the Pacific coast, and Katanchel, A Belmond Hotel, a 17th-century former hacienda in eastern Yucatán, due to open in 2027. “We have a real desire to develop Mexico because the country is well-connected with Belmond's history. Mexico has an exceptional history, heritage, and diversity of cultures,” confirms Nicolas Streff. “And there's an incredible sense of service and hospitality, so it's a destination with fabulous potential.
The Group, already well established in Italy, will continue to consolidate its position there. This includes the opening in 2024 of the Romazzino, A Belmond Hotel, Costa Smeralda, in Sardinia, while the Splendido, A Belmond Hotel, in Portofino will unveil renovated rooms. “We never transform our hotels, we renovate them, trying as much as possible to respect the soul, the culture, and the history of the place. In fact, the greatest compliment that can be paid to us, and which we have had several times with the Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, in Mexico, is that nothing has changed when in fact everything has changed. The experience is elevated,” adds Nicolas Streff.
“We don't have a specific target for the number of properties until a certain year. And it's also a privilege to be part of a group like LVMH, where you have the luxury of time. We're not here for the next two years, but for the next 100 years. All the LVMH houses have histories, and many are centenarians. Since 1976, we have just written the first chapter of Belmond,” concludes Nicolas Streff.
 Trains, here the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, A Belmond Train, are part of the slow-travel culture adopted by Belmond
Photo credit © Belmond
 The Maroma, A Belmond Hotel, Riviera Maya, successfully reopened in 2023
Photo credit © Belmond
 The Romazzino, A belmond Hotel, Costa Smeralada, to open in 2024 in Sardinia
Photo credit © Belmond
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