If You Travel for Work, Try Living Out of a Hotel, Not a Home
At Bloomberg Pursuits, we love to travel. And we always want to make sure we're doing it right. So we're talking to road warriors to learn about their high-end hacks, tips and off-the-wall experiences. These are the Distinguished Travel Hackers.
Marion Emmanuelle Bullôt is constantly on the road. As managing partner at AvroKO hospitality group, she jets around the globe, working on restaurant, bar and hotel projects—her clients have included the Hoxton's opening in Chicago's Fulton Market district and Richard Branson's Virgin Voyages cruise ships. She started her career in restaurants, working with celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White. In 2017 and 2018, she clocked some 300,000 miles in the air—more recently her average has hovered around 200,000.
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3 days ago
- Yahoo
Richard Branson faces fight to challenge Eurostar
Sir Richard Branson faces a fight to fulfil his dream of operating trains through the Channel Tunnel after the rail regulator concluded there was room for just one new entrant. The ruling means Sir Richard must convince the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) that he is better placed to provide competition to Eurostar than three rival bidders. While the ORR found that the only UK depot capable of servicing Channel Tunnel trains has room to handle more, it made clear that vital maintenance capacity is extremely limited. The regulator said: 'Taken together with Eurostar and applicants' initial plans, the assessment suggests there is room for at most one new operator, or for Eurostar to grow.' The chosen bidder will win the right to compete with Eurostar in the lucrative Paris market and potentially launch new services to cities such as Bordeaux, Marseille, Frankfurt and Zurich. The ruling is poised to pitch Sir Richard's Virgin Trains against Gemini Trains, chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley, which has said it would provide services from London's St Pancras International to Paris and Brussels with a fleet of 10 trains. Also in the running is Trenitalia, the main operating arm of Italy's state railway company FS Italian. It is expected to partner with a fourth bidder, Evolyn, which is backed by the Spanish Cosmen family. Virgin Trains said it would order a dozen trains worth around £500m, representing half of the required launch funding. These would most likely be from Alstom or Siemens, which together provide the Eurostar fleet. Sir Richard would take a major equity stake, supported by a partner or partners. While inactive on the UK rail network since 2019, Virgin Trains was credited with bringing airline-style flair to the West Coast route between London and Scotland following its privatisation in the late 1990s. The current West Coast contract is run by Trenitalia with FirstGroup. It was ranked as Britain's worst train service for punctuality and the second worst for cancellations in the first quarter, according to the most recent ORR figures. While Eurostar itself said it would also stake a claim to the spare capacity at Temple Mills depot in east London, the ORR is expected to favour an end to its 31-year monopoly over passenger express services between Britain and the Continent. In a letter to bidders, the regulator asked them to present final submissions 'at pace' to allow it to make a decision on awarding the routes by the end of October. However, it cautioned that applicants must submit detailed plans on the allocation of depot capacity and said that they were free to work together on alternative solutions for providing maintenance. Eurostar, which connects London with Paris, Lille, Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and the French Alps, said it was still of the view that Temple Mills was too full to accommodate a new entrant, with the one and a half servicing lanes available sufficient for five trains at the most. The company, owned by French state railway SCNF, said the only workable solution may be to build a second UK depot and that there a number of suitable sites available, including one at Stratford, close to Temple Mills. While construction costs would most likely exceed £100m, a spokesman said it would be open to collaborating with a potential rival to share the cost. Eurostar operates a fleet of around 20 trains from St Pancras but plans to place an order for up to 50 more as early as this year, to be split between its Channel Tunnel routes and a Paris-to-Brussels service. The spokesman said: 'It's clear a strategic, joined-up approach is needed to unlock the full potential of international rail for passengers and the UK economy.' Virgin Group welcomed the ORR's update and said it was 'ready to take up the challenge.' A spokesman said: 'Today's report is great news for passengers, bringing the group even closer to unlocking competition on the cross-Channel route.' Gemini didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
3 days ago
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Branson faces fight to challenge Eurostar
Sir Richard Branson faces a fight to fulfil his dream of operating trains through the Channel Tunnel after the rail regulator concluded there was room for just one new ruling means that Sir Richard must convince the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) that he is better placed to provide competition to Eurostar than three rival bidders. While the ORR found that the only UK depot capable of servicing Channel Tunnel trains has room to handle more, it made clear that vital maintenance capacity is extremely regulator said: 'Taken together with Eurostar and applicants' initial plans, the assessment suggests there is room for at most one new operator, or for Eurostar to grow.'The chosen bidder will win the right to compete with Eurostar in the lucrative Paris market and potentially launch new services to cities such as Bordeaux, Marseille, Frankfurt and ruling is poised to pitch Sir Richard's Virgin Trains against Gemini Trains, chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley, which has said it would provide services from London's St Pancras International to Paris and Brussels with a fleet of 10 in the running is Trenitalia, the main operating arm of Italy's state railway company FS Italian, which is expected to partner with a fourth bidder, Evolyn, backed by the Spanish Cosmen family, the leading investor in Mobico, formerly National Trains has said it would order a dozen trains worth around £500m, most likely from Alstom or Siemens, which together provided the Eurostar fleet, representing half of a required £1bn in launch funding. Sir Richard would take a major equity stake, supported by a partner or partners. While inactive on the UK rail network since 2019, Virgin Trains was credited with bringing airline-style flair to the West Coast route between London and Scotland following its privatisation in the late current West Coast contract is run by Trenitalia with FirstGroup and ranked as Britain's worst train service for punctuality and the second worst for cancellations in the first quarter, according to the most recent ORR Eurostar itself said it will also stake a claim to the spare capacity at Temple Mills depot in east London, the ORR is expected to favour an end to its 31-year monopoly over passenger express services between Britain and the a letter to bidders, the regulator asked them to present final submissions 'at pace' in order to allow it to make a decision on awarding the routes by the end of October. However, it cautioned that applicants must submit detailed plans on the allocation of depot capacity and said that they were free to work together on alternative solutions for providing which connects London with Paris, Lille, Brussels, Rotterdam, Amsterdam and the French Alps, said it is still of the view that Temple Mills is too full to accommodate a new entrant, with the one and a half servicing lanes available sufficient for five trains at company, owned by French state railway SCNF, said the only workable solution may be to build a second UK depot and that there a number of suitable sites available, including one at Stratford, close to Temple construction costs would most likely exceed £100m, a spokesman said it would be open to collaborating with a potential rival to share the cost. Eurostar operates a fleet of around 20 trains from St Pancras but plans to place an order for up to 50 more as early as this year, to be split between its Channel Tunnel routes and a Paris-to-Brussels spokesman said: 'It's clear a strategic, joined-up approach is needed to unlock the full potential of international rail for passengers and the UK economy.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Channel Tunnel train services to be increased in huge boost for London travellers
London passengers could soon be able to choose from a variety of international train services through the Channel Tunnel, following an announcement from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The regulator said it will allocate spare capacity at Eurostar's Temple Mills depot in north London to either a new operator or Eurostar itself, which has plans to grow. Eurostar currently has a monopoly on Channel Tunnel passenger services. However, other organisations are now looking to launch rival services between London and the continent. These include Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, Italy's state-owned railway company FS Italiane Group and Gemini Trains, chaired by Labour peer Lord Berkeley. Last month, the UK and Switzerland signed an agreement which could see direct trains from London to Geneva, taking just five hours. Access to space at Temple Mills for maintaining and storing trains is a critical requirement for new operators or Eurostar to boost services. It is the only UK site able to support trains that can be used in the Channel Tunnel and on tracks in continental Europe. From London St Pancras, Eurostar serves Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, as well as running seasonal ski trains to the French Alps. Getlink – the French owner of the Channel Tunnel – believes there is potential for services between London and destinations including Bordeaux, Cologne, Frankfurt, Geneva, Marseille and Zurich. The ORR's deputy director for access and international, Martin Jones, said: 'The growing appetite to provide international rail services is great news for passengers. 'We now need operators to set out more detail on their proposals at pace, and will work quickly and as thoroughly as possible to determine the best use of capacity at Temple Mills.' The ORR said it will consider several factors, such as how proposed new services will impact performance, the financial and operational 'readiness' of operators, and the 'economic and societal benefits'. We've written this morning to Eurostar and applicants seeking to run cross-channel train services to set out next steps for access to Temple Mills International to depot capacity is crucial for providing more international services ⬇ — ORR (@railandroad) June 5, 2025 It expects to reach a conclusion later this year. Initial findings from an independent assessment of Temple Mills commissioned by the regulator were published in March. The review found there is some capacity available for more trains without any changes to current practices, and more capacity could be created through further investment. The ORR said it has reviewed evidence submitted in response to this by stakeholders such as Eurostar, and concluded the assessment is 'an accurate reflection' and 'suggests there is room for at most one new operator, or for Eurostar to grow'. The regulator said it will be 'some time' until services from a new operator would be able to start even after access to Temple Mills is secured. That is because they would need to receive regulatory approval in France, access to the High Speed 1 line between London and the Channel Tunnel, and procure trains.
