Banyan Tree Private Collection Partners with Habitat for
Humanity
To Build Homes and Hope in China and the Philippines
HONG KONG, April 22 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Banyan Tree Private
Collection (BTPC), Asia's first asset-backed destination club
offering perpetual and transferable membership, is proud to
announce a fund-raising initiative to benefit the charitable
organisation -- Habitat for Humanity.
As part of a joint program, BTPC is asking membership purchasers to
donate US$10,000 from each individual perpetual membership sold,
which BTPC will match dollar-for-dollar. Banyan Tree Private
Collection boasts one of the most attractive fees in the
destination club industry, with membership priced at a one-time
joining fee starting at US$150,000. Under the fund-raising
initiative, an exclusive rate of US$140,000 will be offered, with a
stipulation that US$10,000 of this fee is directly donated to
Habitat for Humanity, which BTPC will match with an additional
US$10,000.
BTPC aims to raise enough funds to build 100 homes over the next
year through this initiative, as well as a series of fundraising
events to be held throughout the year.
Proceeds from the donations will go towards two Habitat building
projects -- one in Guangdong, China and the other in the
Philippines.
In Guangdong, the program centres on the Qujiang district in the
southern part of Shaoguan municipality where Habitat aims to build
at least 150 housing units in three years for low-income families
living in substandard housing, and to transform existing unsanitary
and unsafe villages into healthy and sustainable communities in
partnership with the local government. More than 15,800 families in
the district live in unsafe and temporary mud brick or earthen wall
houses without sanitation or ventilation systems. In recent years,
many of these houses collapsed during storms and floods -- causing
death and injury to the people and animals.
In the Philippines, donations will also go towards helping
Habitat's Philippines Pasig River Project, which aims to address
the potentials of disasters occurring among slum colonies living
along the riverbanks through resettlement and provision of adequate
shelter. Habitat's ultimate goal for this project is to serve
40,000 additional families between 2011 and 2015 and a capacity of
10,000 families served per year by the end of the campaign.
"Banyan Tree has long been committed to being an agent of social
and economic development through responsible tourism. Habitat's
message -- 'hope starts at home' deeply resonates with BTPC and our
commitment to corporate social responsibility and offer of a home
away from home to our members and guests," says Marina Kleiman,
BTPC's managing director.
Banyan Tree Private Collection is managed by the
multi-award-winning Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, which has a
long history of Corporate Social Responsibility -- founded with the
core value of driving sustainable development. The company seeks to
continue to be an agent of social and economic development through
responsible tourism. It is also a signatory to the United Nations
Global Compact -- committed to upholding the Ten Universal
Principles on human rights, labour, the environment and
anti-corruption. The resorts are engaged with active efforts
specific to their local communities and ecosystem, and these
programs have won a number of environmental awards from around the
world.
Habitat for Humanity China's General Manager, Steven Ying,
expressed delight at the joint initiative, "This is a meaningful
partnership that starts with introducing the friends of Habitat for
Humanity network to BTPC, which is part of the multi-award-winning
Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts group, recognized for its
corporate social responsibility initiatives worldwide. Likewise, we
are excited to welcome BTPC's members to our global efforts.
Together, we will bring hope and build decent homes for underserved
communities in China and the Philippines."
Banyan Tree Private Collection offers members a lifetime of bespoke
travel experiences as well as the benefit of a second home without
the hefty expense or hassles of owning a property. Members receive
seven to fourteen days a year at the club's worldwide portfolio of
luxury villas and apartments. Furthermore, since membership is
perpetual, members not only enjoy a lifetime of travel, but can
also transfer the membership to their loved ones.
Currently, Banyan Tree Private Collection owns the top category
villas within Banyan Tree resorts at Phuket, Thailand; Bali and
Bintan, Indonesia; Ringha, China; Seychelles; as well as
stand-alone private villas and luxury apartments in Kyoto, Japan;
and of course Tuscany, Italy; Grasse, France and London, United
Kingdom. A selection of "Associate Villas", which avail members to
more destinations, is located within all existing and upcoming
Banyan Tree properties. The club's portfolio will continue to
expand in the future to offer members a wide variety of
choices.
More information on Banyan Tree Private Collection may be found
online at http://www.btprivatecollection.com . Membership enquiries
may be directed to membership services at +852 2312-1815 or
[email protected] .
About Banyan Tree Private Collection
Banyan Tree Private Collection is the first asset-backed
destination club in Asia to offer perpetual and transferable
membership. Managed by the Banyan Tree group, Banyan Tree Private
Collection has a portfolio of destinations spanning the globe
including properties in new destinations currently under
development. Presently, the Club's own villas are located in
Phuket, Thailand; Bali and Bintan, Indonesia; Ringha, China;
Grasse, France; Tuscany, Italy; Seychelles; in addition to the
Club's luxury apartments in London, England and Kyoto, Japan. Over
the next few years, Banyan Tree Private Collection is expected to
add villas in Kerala, India; Jiuzhaigou and Guilin, China;
Marrakech, Morocco; and Pylos, Greece.
About Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is an international non-governmental
organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. The
organization works with people of all backgrounds, races and
religions to build homes together in partnership with families in
need. Using volunteer labour and financial contributions from
caring people, they build with partners and communities to provide
simple, decent, and affordable housing for low-income families.
Since 1976, Habitat has built and renovated 300,000 homes in dozens
of countries and territories, some 86,000 of them in the
Asia-Pacific region. Today, an estimated 1,500,000 people, many of
them in our region, live in homes they have built with Habitat. For
more information, visit http://www.habitatchina.org .
SOURCE Banyan Tree Private Collection
