Painted Circle®
Press Release & Introduction
FIRST THINGS FIRST:
Thank you for being here.
This press release is available for you to share. Painted Circle is a collaborative effort and we appreciate your interest. If you don’t find the info you need on this page or our site, or if you have other media or press inquiries, please reach out to us at info@paintedcircle.com.
Painted Circle in a Nutshell
Painted Circle is a travel platform that is part of building an ethical, regenerative, and inclusive travel ecosystem.
We provide an online membership program that gives travelers access to unique travel offers and discounts. Our membership program, "Radius," also creates a unique economic opportunity for travel businesses and the communities we visit.
Our mission is to help keep travel money with local communities, encourage inclusion within the industry, and support passionate travel providers who are creating unique, sustainable, and ethical experiences.
"We are unleashing tremendous potential"
"We aren’t just building a business. We are revolutionizing travel, and helping to unleash the potential that is alive in our communities. How are we doing this? Painted Circle’s unique approach is operating without commissions and providing more tools for business to make personal connections with travelers. We are helping to enable more innovation, more diversity, and more circular contribution in travel and within communities."
Charles Odom
Founder | Painted Circle®
What makes Painted Circle so different?
The short answer: our business model. Unlike traditional travel sites, we are not built on the extraction of commissions from online bookings. Instead, we partner with the businesses on our site to offer special offers to guests. We then package those offers in our membership plan, which gives travelers something truly unique: choice.
The Painted Circle model gives travel businesses a way to connect with travelers that does not require them to pay us a commission. Travelers spend their money directly with vendors, which means more money stays local. Travelers have the option of using our membership program to access money-saving offers to enhance their travel experiences.
Painted Circle is the platform that creates the win/win.
RADIUS:
Our unique membership program for travelers
Travelers who want special offers and discounts at the businesses on Painted Circle can purchase access to our RADIUS program. With RADIUS, travelers have access to offers crafted by each business in the circle. Not only does our RADIUS program allow us to offer Painted Circle commission-free to all the businesses on our site, it creates a financial feedback loop with communities and our partners.
WE ARE A CIRCLE.
AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY PAINTED.
Our name is representative of our world view, and the structure of our business.
To fulfill our mission of building a “collaborative” and “community-driven” platform, we bring elements of circular economics into how Painted Circle works. By inviting in stakeholders that are typically left out of travel’s economic uplift, we are creating a circle of support and inclusion that is unique in our industry. And more than just being “unique,” this allows us to create a circle of allyship that is painted by diversity, and is representative of the communities we love and want to support.
Meet the people of the circle.
We are circling up with travelers, businesses, and community organizations to strengthen our mission of building an “ecosystem” of regenerative travel.
Here’s who is part of the circle, and how we are giving value to each.
Travelers
Travelers don’t want mass-market, cookie-cutter experiences that ruin local communities. They want to find unique experiences and places, and they want to travel in an impactful way.
Painted Circle gives travelers a place to find amazing experiences, many of which are not found on traditional travel sites. And with Painted Circle’s RADIUS program, travelers can access special travel offers crafted by those businesses.
Travel Businesses
Travel businesses lose huge amounts of money paying high commissions on traditional travel sites (often 25% or more). We think this is absurd. Painted Circle never takes fees or commissions from the businesses on our site.
Instead, we help travel businesses by giving them unique tools not found on other travel sites. Some of our tools include free interview features, content shared directly from the voice of travel creators, and of course, our commission-free business model. Painted Circle helps travel businesses find guests, and then helps make the most of those relationships.
Communities
The economic uplift of tourism can be huge, but all too often communities are left out. The traditional, siloed approach means that travel money doesn’t have the transformative impact we hope for.
We think we can change this. Painted Circle provides community organizations and nonprofits a way to be part of our circle. These organizations can not only benefit from our Community Giving Strategy, but also be involved directly in shared revenue with Painted Circle. We think this is a crucial part of living up to our mission of creating an “ecosystem” around travel.
