Orient-Express Hotels Ltd. has announced recently that the company will be changing its brand name to Belmond on March 10, 2014. All of Orient-Express's current offerings will be changing their branding, including the company's trains and riverboats, in an attempt to secure more revenue. CEO and President of Orient-Express Hotels John M. Scott said, "Extending our global brand presence by having a name that will be associated as much with our hotels and river cruises as with our celebrated train experiences is a key step in our focus of generating enhanced revenue."

Rebranding may or may not lead to a better revenue stream for the hotel chain, so it would be safe to assume that the name that Orient-Express is shifting to would have a pretty substantial ethos or pathos behind it, right? Not really.

Ralph Aruzza said of the new name, "Belmond was chosen after extensive research and evaluation of a number of alternatives in order to justify a name that resonates well with our guests and that encompasses the global collection of unique experiences we are today." What Aruzza is saying here is that they chose Belmond because the name alone will theoretically make the company more money.

But, here's the thing. When searching online for the name Belmond, the results popping up all have to do with a town in Iowa, and yes it's called Belmond. Other than this small Iowan town, there is very little name recognition for a moniker that they're putting so much importance on. What do you think of the rebranding of Orient-Express Hotels to Belmond? Good? Bad? Weird? Let us know in the comments below!