Purchase with Purpose

From October to December 2016, guests at COMO Hotels and Resorts’ 13 hotels across Asia, Australia, Europe, America and the Caribbean can make a lasting difference to local communities simply by using a MasterCard to settle their hotel bills.

Every Mastercard transaction at COMO means a US$25 donation through Mastercard’s Purchase with Purpose programme, benefitting community organisations and schools in each destination. Guests pay nothing extra, and leave with the satisfaction of having made a lasting difference in the local communities within which their hotel is located.

This is the seventh year of the global partnership between COMO and Mastercard. To date, the initiative has raised over US$280,000 for more than 6,000 beneficiaries, supporting programmes such as hospitality training for high school students and underserved women in Thailand, financial and educational support to students and entrepreneurs in Bali and Bhutan, and life and vocational skills training for youth in London, the Maldives and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Hans Jörg Meier, Chief Operating Officer for COMO Hotels and Resorts, said: “The COMO-Mastercard partnership provides a platform for our guests to make a meaningful difference to underserved youth, women and girls in all of our destinations. Our guests are engaged in COMO’s sustainable practices and we are delighted to be able to provide them with an effortless way to leave a lasting contribution to the destination,”

Georgette Tan, Senior Vice President, Communications, Asia Pacific, Mastercard said, “This year marks seven years of partnership with COMO and we are grateful for their support in making the Purchase with Purpose programme a success. Every donation will make a huge difference to the less fortunate in the region and we are delighted to be able to ease the process for travelers to make a valuable contribution to the communities they travel to. Our support also reinforces our research findings which show that consumers in Asia Pacific view social responsibility as a key consideration when choosing merchants to buy from, with over a third likely to pay more for a particular brand or product simply because a percentage of its cost is donated to a good cause.”

Beneficiaries for this year’s COMO-Mastercard Purchase with Purpose will include:

• Your Sanctuary: Supporting women who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse, supported by COMO The Halkin and COMO Metropolitan London (UK).
• Prathanadee Foundation: Life and employment skills training for underserved women, supported by COMO Metropolitan Bangkok (Thailand).
• Feeding South Florida: Access to food for underprivileged children, supported by COMO Metropolitan Miami Beach (USA).
• Youth Focus: Life skills training for youth, supported by COMO The Treasury, Perth (Australia).
• Maafushi and Guraidhoo Secondary School: Upgrading technical learning facilities, supported by COMO Cocoa Island (The Maldives).
• Guraidhoo Thaa Island School: Professional diving training, supported by COMO Maalifushi (The Maldives).
• Raymond Gardiner High School: Upgrading school facilities, supported by COMO Parrot Cay (Turks and Caicos Islands).
• Panyanukul School: Upgrading vocational learning facilities, supported by COMO Point Yamu, Phuket (Thailand).
• RENEW: Building a shelter for at-risk women, supported by COMO Uma Paro and COMO Uma Punakha (Bhutan).
• Peduli Sesama Philanthropic Work: Hospitality skills training for underprivileged youth, supported by COMO Uma Ubud (Bali).
• East Bali Poverty Project: Leadership training for youth, supported by COMO Shambhala Estate (Bali).
• Breast Cancer Foundation: Independence skills training for women, supported by COMO Shambhala Urban Escape (Singapore).

For more information, please contact:

Dominique Backhouse, COMO Hotels and Resorts
Group PR Manager - Asia
T. +852 9088 1096 E. dominique.backhouse@comohotels.com

Chris Orlikowski, COMO Hotels and Resorts
Group Director, PR and Communications
T. +44 7799 831905 E. chris.orlikowski@comohotels.com