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Opinion Article Sales & Marketing

Accor's Orient Express CEO Gilda Perez-Alvarado on Luxury Hospitality

Gilda Perez-Alvarado, CEO of Orient Express and Group Chief Strategy Officer at Accor, discusses how luxury brands endure by anchoring to core principles rather than surface-level identity.

Youri SawerschelGilda Perez-Alvarado
By Youri Sawerschel and Gilda Perez-Alvarado

Gilda Perez-Alvarado reflects on her experience as CEO of Orient Express and Group Chief Strategy Officer at Accor, exploring what makes luxury hospitality brands endure, from clear strategic principles to the emotional power of travel experiences.

In this episode, Youri Sawerschel speaks with Gilda Perez-Alvarado, CEO of Orient Express and Group Chief Strategy Officer at Accor, about the challenge of building luxury hospitality brands that stay relevant over time. 

Rather than treating a brand as a logo, a font, or a set of standards, Gilda brings the conversation back to something deeper: the principles a brand refuses to compromise on. Drawing from her experience in hospitality real estate, global strategy, and the evolution of Orient Express, she reflects on why the strongest brands are the ones that know what they stand for, while still being able to evolve with the world around them.

Sales & Marketing Luxury Hospitality Hotel Branding Guest Experience
Youri Sawerschel
Youri Sawerschel
Founder & Chief Creative Officer, Creative Supply

Youri Sawerschel is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Creative Supply, a creative consultancy present in Zurich and Paris. Solicited for his creative thinking skills, Youri has been involved with projects focused on creating, launching and managing brands in Europe, China and the Middle-East.

Gilda Perez-Alvarado
Gilda Perez-Alvarado
Chief Strategy Officer and CEO Orient Express, Accor

Gilda Perez-Alvarado has a strong academic background developed across both Europe and North America, at Cornell University and IE Business School.She started her career at PwC before joining JLL in 2004. Working in the company’s Hotel & Hospitality division, Gilda has accrued nearly two decades of experience providing top-tier strategic advice to the industry’s largest owners and investors including sovereign wealth funds, private equity,...

Creative Supply
Consultant

Creative Supply is a Zurich-based creative agency delivering branding, customer experience, and digital design — with strategy at its core.

Orient Express
Brand by Accor

Orient Express Hotels is an ultra-luxury hospitality brand inspired by the legendary 19th-century train that epitomized the golden age of travel. Revived by Accor, the brand combines heritage, craftsmanship, and immersive storytelling across a growing collection of hotels, trains, and yachts. Its first modern property, La Minerva in Rome, opened in 2025, with others like Palazzo Donà Giovannelli in Venice to follow.

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