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Today: How to e book & lower your expenses at Belmond Hotels?
Belmond ranks amongst my favourite lodge manufacturers on this planet. The firm manages an ultraluxe assortment of iconic inns, trains and river cruises in 24 international locations, bringing collectively a number of the world’s most sensational journeys and locations. With Belmond, you may keep in timeless inns in Venice, Rio and St. Petersburg, embrace the spirit of journey at Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat, glide alongside the rails by means of the Swiss Alps, soar throughout the Andes, or discover the mystifying rivers of Myanmar. The Belmond story started in 1976, when the corporate acquired the keys to the legendary Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice. A 12 months later, they started gathering the carriages for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, which launched in 1982 to whisk intrepid vacationers to La Serenissima in type. Since then, Belmond has grown to a rigorously curated assortment of journey adventures, every with a wealthy story to inform.
But with the group’s stellar popularity additionally comes a heavy price ticket. Staying at a Belmond property typically requires deep pockets, with entry room charges nicely above $1000 USD per evening at a number of properties. Unfortunately, Belmond presently lacks a formalized factors loyalty program – most likely as a result of their rich friends hold returning anyway – though they handle an invitation-only program referred to as “Belmond Bellini Club” which provides unique charges and perks to the purchasers of the world’s prime journey brokers (extra on that under). However, there are some ideas & methods that may prevent a couple of dollars on prices when staying at one of many model’s properties. I hereby share the very best methods for reserving a room (and even suite) at a Belmond Hotel .
In this text:
You can share your personal methods within the feedback under.
1. BOOK VIA BELMOND BELLINI CLUB
Belmond has established an invitation-only program – referred to as Belmond Bellini Club – for prime producing journey brokers, as a way to foster a relationship with these agent and to extend gross sales. The Bellini Club is called after the well-known cocktail from Harry’s Bar at Belmond’s Hotel Cipriani. Belmond Bellini Club provides purchasers of those journey brokers complimentary facilities and VIP standing at Belmond inns, trains and river cruises worldwide. These advantages are a bit just like the perks supplied by Virtuoso, though Belmond Bellini Club covers extra properties than these supplied by Virtuoso, and for some properties, the Belmond Billini Club perks are extra rewarding than the Virtuoso perks.
When you e book a Belmond lodge by means of a journey agent that’s member of the unique Belmond Bellini Club, you’ll get the next advantages:
- Complimentary improve upon arrival at time of check-in, based mostly on availability
- Buffet or full breakfast for two, day by day
- Fully versatile lodge or resort credit score as much as $200 USD per keep
- $500 USD present voucher for future journey when buying an expertise of $5,000 USD
- VIP Recognition by property administration and employees
- Special in-room welcome amenity
- Top-of-the-waitlist precedence for prime demand properties and experiences
- Complimentary Internet
Travel brokers which might be members of Belmond Bellini Club take pleasure in a degree of contact and repair when working with Belmond that’s not accessible to different businesses or by means of reserving direct. As a Bellini member, these journey brokers work with Belmond’s VIP desk for any particular requests, concierge companies, and waitlist clearance. Additionally, they’ve entry to particular promotions and charges not obtainable to most people. My most popular Belmond Bellini Club journey company is Classic Travel, which additionally permits vacationers to e book the Bellini Club charges on-line.
2. BOOK VIA VIRTUOSO
Several Belmond properties are members of Virtuoso. Virtuoso is just not your basic lodge reserving engine web site. It’s the trade’s main, invitation-only community of the world’s finest luxurious journey advisors, spanning over 26 international locations and 9,000 journey advisors. So whenever you e book a Belmond lodge through Virtuoso, more often than not, you may be in contact with a Virtuoso journey agent who will make the reserving for you. There are some Virtuoso journey businesses although that supply a web-based reserving device, comparable to Classic Travel, which has a wonderful web site and is my general most popular Virtuoso journey company for reserving a Belmond (or every other luxurious) lodge.
Booking a Belmond lodge through Virtuoso as a substitute of through the Belmond web site has the next advantages:
- The single finest motive to e book a Belmond lodge by means of a Virtuoso journey agent is that it means worth for cash as you’ll get entry to complimentary VIP perks, comparable to room improve, versatile check-in and check-out occasions, day by day breakfast and a resort, spa, or meals credit score (or one thing else). While the precise perks differ from lodge to lodge, they’ll simply be value just a few hundred {dollars} per evening.
- In most instances, the Virtuoso fee is an identical to the Best Available Rate (BAR) discovered on the official Belmond web site, which is a versatile fee that may be cancelled with out penalty. For that motive, you’re leaving cash on the desk when you e book a paid keep at the very best obtainable fee (BAR) through the Belmond web site and never through Virtuoso.
It’s essential to emphasise that early reserving low cost charges, particular promotional packages, company charges, group charges, and different discounted charges don’t qualify for Virtuoso advantages. Therefore, I at all times suggest to verify the bottom fee on the Belmond web site, after which weigh the professionals and cons earlier than deciding whether or not to e book through Virtuoso (finest obtainable fee with free advantages) or not.
Also, though Virtuoso and the Belmond Bellini Club program appear to be an identical (and are sometimes supplied by the identical journey brokers), they don’t seem to be:
- Virtuoso charges solely apply to a collection of Belmond Hotels, whereas the Belmond Bellini Club program is relevant in any respect Belmond properties.
- Virtuoso advantages can solely be utilized to Virtuoso charges (which is an identical to the Best Available Rate, as defined above), whereas the Belmond Bellini Club program is relevant to all charges discovered on the Belmond web site (together with discounted and/or early chicken charges).
- The upgrades for rooms booked by means of the Belmond Bellini Club program are prioritized forward of upgrades for lodge stays booked through Virtuoso.
3. BOOK VIA YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY
When you personal an American Express bank card, you may e book virtually any Belmond lodge through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts. This will give you related advantages as these supplied through a Virtuoso journey agent:
- Room improve upon arrival when obtainable
- Daily (continental) breakfast for 2 individuals
- Guaranteed late 4pm check-out time
- Noon check-in when obtainable
- A spa, meals, and/or beverage credit score (valued at a minimal of US$ 100 USD)
Holders of a Visa Signature bank card may also profit from Virtuoso-like further perks at most Belmond inns & resorts after they make the reserving through their bank card journey workplace and/or pay with their bank card. Contact your native VISA bank card firm to seek out out whether or not they supply this journey service.
When you personal a Citi Prestige Card (USA residents solely) you may make use of the fourth evening free profit: whenever you e book a 4 evening keep at a Belmond property, you get reimbursed the price of the fourth evening, minus any taxes and repair charges. The fourth evening profit is calculated based mostly on the common nightly fee of your full keep. Reservations should be made by means of Thankyou.com or the Citi Prestige Concierge and you should pay in your keep along with your Citi Prestige Card, ThankYou factors, or a mix of the 2.
4. BOOK VIA HOTELS.COM
Hotels.com – a part of Expedia – is one in every of my favourite lodge reserving web sites, primarily for 3 causes:
- You accumulate credit in the direction of free lodge nights through Hotels.com’s Rewards program. When you e book and keep 10 nights at eligible inns, you’ll get 1 evening free to redeem at one other. Hotels.com works out the common worth of all the ten nights you’ve collected and offers it again to you as a free evening. All you should do is make a free Rewards account and login into your account earlier than making any bookings.
- You can typically apply 10% low cost coupons. Unfortunately, virtually all the world’s main lodge chains are excluded from the checklist of inns for which you should utilize a reduction coupon (though I’ve been ready to make use of low cost coupons for reserving Belmond properties prior to now)
- Hotels.com additionally has a wonderful Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) program: when you discover a cheaper value, Hotels.com will match that fee (and refund you the distinction) after you submit an online BRG declare. The Hotels.com BRG is offered just for actual itinerary matches, together with property, room sort, and dates of journey (as is the case with all different BRG applications). The BRG additionally contains an an identical cancellation coverage (which might make it more durable in your BRG declare to be authorized).
Those three benefits work very nicely when reserving a keep at a Belmond lodge. As talked about above, Belmond doesn’t have a loyalty program, so you might as nicely e book the room through Hotels.com as a substitute of the official Belmond web site in order that you’ll get a few of your a reimbursement ultimately (by investing it in the direction of free lodge nights).
It’s essential to note that Expedia is presently rolling out a brand new loyalty program – referred to as One Key – which can change the Hotels.com Rewards program. One Key launched in July 2023 within the United States, with different international locations to comply with later in 2024.
5. BOOK VIA THE BELMOND WEBSITE
Except for the Best Available Rates (BAR) – that are at all times finest booked through a Virtuoso journey agent – it is smart to verify the Belmond web site for the presence of any provides, packages or particular offers. You can verify these offers by clicking on the “offer” tab on the highest of the house web page of every Belmond lodge. Several kinds of offers are supplied:
- Single lodge bundle offers require a multi-day keep at one property and normally embody a reduction on the room fee and some advantages comparable to airport transfers and complimentary wellness remedies.
- Multi-hotel bundle offers are supplied in locations the place Belmond manages a number of properties in shut proximity to 1 one other (e.g. Italy, Peru). The bundle offers normally supply a reduced keep whenever you go to a number of inns throughout one itinerary along with complimentary transfers between the inns and few different advantages (e.g. spa remedies).
That mentioned, reserving immediately through the Belmond web site is my least most popular methodology of reserving, and right here’s why:
- The Belmond Bellini Club program is relevant to all charges discovered on the Belmond web site (together with single and multi lodge bundle offers).
- Belmond doesn’t have a income based mostly loyalty program, so you can’t earn credit with the corporate in the direction of free lodge nights. The solely approach to make your stays at Belmond inns rely for some sort of loyalty scheme is by making the bookings through Hotels.com, the place you may make investments right into a free lodge evening for each ten nights booked (which may be spent at different Belmond inns).
- Most lodge manufacturers supply a finest fee assure: when you discover a decrease qualifying fee on the web, the lodge will match the decrease fee, and infrequently throw in an extra low cost. Unfortunately, Belmond doesn’t supply a finest fee assure (as they declare that they provide the bottom obtainable charges anyway).
- Never e book a versatile ‘best available rate’ on the Belmond web site. Once once more, as defined above, you’re leaving cash on the desk when you e book a paid keep at a Belmond lodge that could be a Virtuoso member through the lodge web site and never through Virtuoso, as a result of you may’t obtain Virtuoso advantages (comparable to breakfast, free improve, and a resort credit score) by reserving immediately with the lodge.
IMHO, it’s completely bizarre that Belmond isn’t rewarding loyal customers who e book immediately through the corporate’s official web site, however you can rating free stays at Belmond inns by reserving through Hotels.com or get very good advantages at Belmond properties (as when you would have elite standing) by reserving by means of Virtuoso or your bank card firm.
6. MY REVIEWS & YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF BELMOND HOTELS
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