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47-463: Belmond Ltd. (formerly Orient-Express Hotels Ltd ) is a hospitality and leisure company that operates hotels, train services and river cruises and safaris worldwide. In 2024, the company has 47 properties in 28 countries and territories, with 32 hotels, six tourist trains, seven river cruise boats and two safaris. The company was founded in 1976 by the American entrepreneur James Sherwood with

94-493: A habit of service in their daily lives." He also said, "Only those who have opened their hearts to Christ can offer a hospitality that is never formal or superficial but identified by 'gentleness' and 'reverence'." Some Western countries have developed a host culture for immigrants based on the Bible . In some Christian belief, a guest should never be made to feel that they are causing undue extra labor by their presence. One of

141-485: A besa and agreed to cease blood feuding and accept state judicial outcomes for victims and perpetrators. Albanian writer Ismail Kadare considers gjakmarrja to be not an exclusively Albanian phenomenon, but one historically characteristic of the Balkans as a whole. His 1980 novel Broken April ( Albanian : Prilli i Thyer ) explores the social effects of an ancestral blood feud between two landowning families, in

188-560: A cluster of new properties in Mexico. In August 2023, Belmond re-opened Maroma following a redesign, in which ten beachfront suites were added. In June 2023 it entered into an agreement with Cora Pacific Development to open Milaroca, a hotel on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, in 2025. In December 2023, the company announced that it had acquired Hacienda Katanchel in Mexico, with a planned opening in 2027. In December 2022, Belmond announced

235-470: A number of renowned historians and anthropologists have, in particular, "solemnized, romanticized, and glorified" the hospitality of the northern Albanian highlanders. Some reasons that have been provided to explain the admiration of the Albanian hospitality by foreign visitors are: the rituals and forms in which it is expressed; its universal application with uncompromising protection of the guest, even in

282-471: A ten-year plan to upgrade its properties, which it had already begun with the renovation of Splendido Mare in 2021. Upgrades have included renovations and refurbishments to its trains. In October 2021, Belmond launched a train carriage designed by film director Wes Anderson on the British Pullman train. In 2023, the company also launched a Dior Spa on The Royal Scotsman. In 2024, the company returned

329-420: Is an essential component to Albanian culture because it is the core of social respectability. Honor is held in very high regard because it carries over generations. Legacies and history are carried in the family names of Albanians and must be held in high priority, even at the cost of one's life. Therefore, when a personal attack of a formidable magnitude is unleashed on a member of any family, an equal punishment

376-421: Is rooted in the teachings of Muhammad. These teachings extend to the treatment of guests and even prisoners of war. Authentic sources and Quranic verses underscore the importance of showing kindness and peace towards these people. Abu Aziz ibn Umair reported: "I was among the prisoners of war on the day of the battle of Badr . Muhammad had said, 'I enjoin you to treat the captives well.' After I accepted Islam, I

423-429: Is the possibility to pardon the man who spilled the blood of one's father or one's son, but a man who has spilled the blood of a guest cannot ever been pardoned. In Albanian tradition a guest is effectively regarded as a semi-god, admired above all other human relations. A reflection of the Albanian solemn adherence to their traditional customs of hospitality and besa is notably considered to be their treatment of Jews at

470-534: Is the social obligation to kill an offender or a member of their family in order to salvage one's honor. This practice is generally seen as in line with the social code known as the Canon of Lekë Dukagjini ( Kanuni i Lekë Dukagjinit ) or simply the Kanun (consisting of 12 books and 1,262 articles ). The code was originally a "a non-religious code that was used by Muslims and Christians alike." Protecting one's honor

517-490: Is to be expected by the laws of the Kanun. Some of the actions that initiate gjakmarrja include "killing a guest while he was under the protection of the owner of the house, violation of private house, failure to pay a debt, kidnapping or the seduction or rape of a woman." This often extends many generations if the debt is not paid. Those who choose not to pay with the lives of their family members live in shame and seclusion for

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564-486: The Albanian tribal system where Kosovar Malisors settled disputes among themselves through their mountain law and 600 Albanians died per year from blood feuding. Sultan Abdul Hamid II , Ottoman officials posted to Albanian populated lands, and some Albanians strongly disapproved of blood feuding, viewing it as inhumane, uncivilised and an unnecessary waste of life that created social disruption, lawlessness and economic dislocation. In 1881 local notables and officials from

611-487: The Albanians . There has been a revival of instances of gjakmarrja in remote parts of Albania (such as the north) and Kosovo due to the lack of state control since the collapse of communism . The Albanian Helsinki Committee for Human Rights considers one reason for the pervasiveness of blood feuds to be the malfunction of the country's judiciary . Many Albanians see the courts as corrupt or ineffective, and prefer

658-662: The Council of Ministers allowed them to continue their work in the provinces until May 1909. After the Young Turk Revolution and subsequent restoration of the Ottoman constitution , the Shala , Kastrati , Shoshi and Hoti tribes made a besa (pledge) to support the document and to stop blood feuding with other tribes until 6 November 1908. As of 1940, about 600 blood feuds reportedly existed against King Zog I of

705-580: The Eastern & Oriental Express to service, after the train service was paused during the pandemic. The company also launched a Dior Spa aboard, and unveiled a sleeper carriage for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, designed by French street artist JR. The carriage was presented at the 2024 Venice Biennale. Hospitality Hospitality ethics is a discipline that studies this usage of hospitality. "Hospitality" derives from

752-564: The Latin hospes , meaning "host", "guest", or "stranger". Hospes is formed from hostis , which means "stranger" or "enemy" (the latter being where terms like "hostile" derive). By metonymy , the Latin word hospitalis means a guest-chamber, guest's lodging, an inn. Hospes/hostis is thus the root for the English words host , hospitality , hospice , hostel , and hotel . In ancient cultures, hospitality involved welcoming

799-650: The Netherlands, it is often considered inappropriate to feed children from another family. Visiting children may be asked to leave at dinnertime or to wait in another room, or the host family may call the visitor's parents and ask for permission. In the West today hospitality is rarely a matter of protection and survival and is more associated with etiquette and entertainment . However, it still involves showing respect for one's guests, providing for their needs, and treating them as equals. Cultures and subcultures vary in

846-689: The acquisition of the Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Italy, from the Guinness family for £900,000. Sherwood then bought a number of carriages from the original Orient Express train, which he restored and used to offer rides from Paris and London to his hotel in Venice, thus the former name of the company. Much of the history of the company is documented in Sherwood's memoir Orient Express: A Personal Journey . On 10 March 2014, Orient-Express Hotels Ltd

893-473: The activity was widespread among the Malsors. In situations of murder tribal law stipulated the principle of koka për kokë ("head for a head") where relatives of the victim are obliged to seek gjakmarrja . Nineteen percent of male deaths in İşkodra vilayet were caused by murders due to vendetta and blood feuding during the late Ottoman period. At the same time Western Kosovo was also an area dominated by

940-589: The areas of Debar, Pristina, Elbasan, Mati, Ohrid and Tetovo petitioned the state for the prevention of blood feuds. To resolve disputes and clamp down on the practice the Ottoman state addressed the problem directly by sending Blood Feud Reconciliation Commissions ( musalaha-ı dem komisyonları ) that produced results with limited success. In the late Ottoman period, due to the influence of Catholic Franciscan priests some changes to blood feuding practices occurred among Albanian highlanders such as guilt being restricted to

987-419: The case of blood feud ( gjakmarrje ) between the host and the guest; its central role as a moral principle in Albanian society and individual life, also regulated and sanctified in the Kanun as a basic societal institution; its exceptional altruistic appeal as well as application, conferred with the best available resources, regardless of the fact that the remote, harsh, and geographically inhospitable territory of

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1034-404: The centuries, philosophers have considered the problem of hospitality. To Derrida, there is an implicit hostility in hospitality, as it requires treating a person as a stranger, distancing them from oneself; Derrida labels this intrinsic conflict with the portmanteau "hostipitality". However, hospitality offers a paradoxical situation (like language), since the inclusion of those who are welcomed in

1081-520: The cities of Tiranë and Durrës are least affected. In Tiranë blood feuds arrived to the capital city with the migration of people from the north and north-eastern regions. Families engaged in blood feuds mainly live in poverty due to isolation and inability to access better living conditions. Ismet Elezi, a professor of law at the University of Tirana , believes that in spite of the Kanun's endorsement of blood vengeance, there are strict rules on how

1128-739: The company from the New York Stock Exchange and make it 100% privately owned. The announcement of the sale led Belmond's share price to increase by 40% in a day. The deal closed in April 2019. Belmond has continued to grow its portfolio in Italy. In September 2021, it acquired Villa Beatrice in Portofino . In February 2023, the company announced an agreement with Sardegna Resorts S.r.l to manage Romazzino in Sardinia. It has also added

1175-531: The concept of hospitality was historically manipulated to legitimate the conquest of the Americas by imposing the right of free transit, which was conducive to the formation of the modern nation state . This suggests that hospitality is a political institution, which can be ideologically deformed to oppress others. Gjakmarrje In traditional Albanian culture , Gjakmarrja ( English : "blood-taking", i.e. " blood feud ") or hakmarrja ("revenge")

1222-519: The custom of the foot washing of visitors or the kiss of peace . Jesus taught in the New Testament that those who had welcomed a stranger had welcomed him. He expanded the meaning of brother and neighbor to include the stranger, that he or she be treated with hospitality. Pope John Paul II wrote: "Welcoming our brothers and sisters with care and willingness must not be limited to extraordinary occasions but must become for all believers

1269-492: The end of the visit, hosts customarily escort their guests out of their home, wishing them a safe journey. Abraham set the standard as providing three things: The initial letters of these Hebrew words spell Aishel ( Genesis 21:33 ). In Christianity , hospitality is a virtue . It is a reminder of sympathy for strangers and a rule to welcome visitors. This is a virtue found in the Old Testament , with, for example,

1316-530: The ethics of hospitality in verses 81 through 90, dedicating a separate chapter to it (chapter 9). Judaism praises hospitality to strangers and guests, based largely on the examples of Abraham and Lot in the Book of Genesis ( Genesis 18:1–8 and 19:1–8 ). In Hebrew, the practice is called hachnasat orchim , meaning "welcoming guests". Besides other expectations, hosts are expected to provide nourishment, comfort, and entertainment for their guests, and at

1363-411: The extent to which one is expected to show hospitality to strangers, as opposed to personal friends or members of one's ingroup . In anthropology, hospitality has been analyzed as an unequal relation between hosts and guests, mediated through various forms of exchange . Jacques Derrida offers a model to understand hospitality that divides unconditional hospitality from conditional hospitality. Over

1410-518: The food, what is this?" The man said, "It was damaged by rain, O Messenger of God." He said, "Why did you not put the rain-damaged food on top so that people could see it! Whoever cheats us is not one of us." Celtic societies also valued hospitality, especially in terms of protection. A host who granted a person's request for refuge was expected not only to provide food and shelter for guests but also to make sure that they did not come to harm under their care. In Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and

1457-528: The guest was expected to abide by a set code of behaviour. The ancient Greek term xenia —or theoxenia when a god was involved—expressed this ritualized guest-friendship relation. This relationship was codified in the Homeric epics, and especially in the Odyssey . In Greek society, a person's ability to abide by the laws of hospitality determined nobility and social standing. The ancient Greeks, since

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1504-497: The highlands of north Albania in the 1930s. The New York Times , reviewing it, wrote: " Broken April is written with masterly simplicity in a bardic style, as if the author is saying: Sit quietly and let me recite a terrible story about a blood feud and the inevitability of death by gunfire in my country. You know it must happen because that is the way life is lived in these mountains. Insults must be avenged; family honor must be upheld...." A 2001 Brazilian film adaptation of

1551-446: The main principles of Pashtunwali is Melmastyā́ . This is the display of hospitality and profound respect to all visitors (regardless of race, religion, national affiliation, or economic status) without any hope of remuneration or favour. Pashtuns will go to great lengths to show their hospitality. In Islam, there is a strong emphasis on expressing goodwill through the phrase peace be upon you Assalamu Alaikum . This practice

1598-471: The northern Albanian mountains is typically scarce in material resources. The Albanian law of hospitality is simply clarified by the Kanun: "The house of the Albanian belongs to God and the guest." Which means that the guest – who represents the supreme ethical category – has a greater role than the master of the house himself. The guest's role is even more important than blood, because according to custom there

1645-586: The novel titled Behind the Sun ( Portuguese : Abril Despedaçado ) transferred the action from rural Albania to the 1910 Brazilian badlands, but left the themes otherwise untouched. It was made by filmmaker Walter Salles , starred Rodrigo Santoro , and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film . The American-Albanian film The Forgiveness of Blood also deals with

1692-646: The offender or their household and even one tribe accepting the razing of the offender's home as compensation for the offense. In the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 the new Young Turk government established the Commissions for the Reconciliation of Blood Feuds that focused on the regions of İpek (Pejë), Prizren and Tepedelen ( Tepelenë ). The commissions sentenced Albanians who had participated in blood feud killing and

1739-468: The perceived self-government offered by adherence to the Kanun, alongside state law. An Albanian study of 2018 on blood feuds that included data from police records noted that there are 704 families affected with 591 in Albania and 113 having left the country. Six Albanian districts, Kukës, Shkodër, Lezhë, Tiranë and Durrës, are affected by the practice. Shkodër and Lezhë districts are most affected and

1786-448: The practice may be carried out. For instance, revenge killings of women (including male-role-filling sworn virgins ), children, and elderly persons are banned. Others believe that the Kanun itself emphasises reconciliation and the peacemaking process, and that selective interpretation of its rules is responsible for the current bloodshed. For instance, in recent years, there are more and more reports of women and children being subjected to

1833-559: The reconciliation campaign ended at least 1,200 deadly blood feuds, and in 1993 not a single homicide occurred in Kosovo. Albanian were also absolved of "keeping besa" to non-Albanians. In Montenegro , an event "Beslidhja e Malësisë" (Pledge of Malësia) took place in Tuzi (28 June 1970) in the presence of Catholic and Muslim clergy. Families and other extended kin in the Malesia region made

1880-480: The rest of their lives, imprisoned in their homes. Ottoman control mainly existed in the few urban centres and valleys of northern Albania and was minimal and almost non-existent in the mountains, where Malsors (Albanian highlanders) lived an autonomous existence according to the Kanun (tribal law) of Lek Dukagjini. Disputes would be solved through tribal law within the framework of vendetta or blood feuding and

1927-525: The sacred law of hospitality implies that others will be rejected. Julia Kristeva alerts readers to the dangers of "perverse hospitality", takes advantage of the vulnerability of aliens to dispossess them. Hospitality reduces the tension in the process of host-guest encounters, producing a liminal zone that combines curiosity about others and fear of strangers. Hospitality centres on the belief that strangers should be assisted and protected while traveling. However, some disagree. Anthony Pagden describes how

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1974-573: The same redemption murders. These forgotten rules breed misinterpretation of the Kanun and encourage the mindless killings of family members. In Kosovo , most cases of Gjakmarrja were reconciled in the early 1990s in the course of a large-scale reconciliation movement to end blood feuds led by Anton Çetta . when political leaders sought to establish unity among Albanian seeking independence from Serbia and Yugoslavia. The largest reconciliation gathering took place at Verrat e Llukës on 1 May 1990, which had between 100,000 and 500,000 participants. By 1992

2021-484: The stranger and offering them food, shelter, and safety. Among Albanians , hospitality ( Albanian : mikpritja ) is an indissoluble element of their traditional society, also regulated by the Albanian traditional customary law ( Kanun ). Hospitality, honor, and besa , are the pillars of the northern Albanian tribal society . Numerous foreign visitors have historically documented the hospitality of both northern and southern Albanians. Foreign travelers and diplomats, and

2068-616: The time of Homer, believed that the goddess of hospitality and hearth was Hestia , one of the original six Olympians . In India and Nepal , hospitality is based on the principle Atithi Devo Bhava , meaning "the guest is God". This principle is shown in a number of stories where a guest is revealed to be a god who rewards the provider of hospitality. From this stems, the Indian or Nepalese practice of graciousness towards guests at home and in all social situations. The Tirukkuṛaḷ , an ancient Indian work on ethics and morality , explains

2115-632: The time of the Italian and German occupation during World War II . Indeed, Jews in hiding in Albania were not betrayed or handed over to the Germans by Albanians, and as a result, there were eleven times more Jews at the end of the WWII than at the beginning of it in Albania. In Ancient Greece , hospitality was a right, with the host being expected to make sure the needs of his guests were met. Conversely,

2162-526: Was among the Ansar (Inhabitants of Madinah ) and when the time of lunch or dinner arrived, I would feed dates to the prisoners for I had been fed bread due to the command of Muhammad." Good hospitality is crucial in Islam even in business. According to another report, Muhammad passed by a pile of food in the market. He put his hand inside it and felt dampness, although the surface was dry. He said: "O owner of

2209-628: Was renamed Belmond, and on 1 July 2014, Belmond's holding company was also renamed Belmond Ltd. In April 2015, Belmond partnered with Irish Rail to launch the train Belmond Grand Hibernian in Ireland. In July 2016, Indian Hotels Company Limited sold most of its 5.1% stake in Belmond, retaining only 0.44% after the sale. In December 2018, the company agreed to be acquired by LVMH in a $ 3.2 billion transaction which would delist

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