Planet 5

Where Luxury
Meets the Wild.

Planet 5  ×  Banyan Group  ·  Africa Expansion  ·  2026
"The most extraordinary luxury is not what you wear or where you sleep. It is knowing that your presence here made this place more alive than it was before you arrived."
Planet 5 · Founding Philosophy
Planet 5

A luxury wilderness
preservation platform.

Founded by Emmy-nominated filmmaker and fine art photographer Dirk Collins. We work at the intersection of fine art photography, direct-trade specialty coffee, guardian memberships, and curated expeditions, with a single founding belief: that the people who love wild places most are also the ones best positioned to protect them.

Our model is built on preservation, not donation. Every product returns money directly into the ecosystem it came from: the farmers, the communities, the land itself. We call this the preservation loop. It is measurable, verifiable, and beautiful.

The Four Pillars
Fine Art Photography

Visual stewardship of wild and mountain places.

Heritage Coffee

Direct-trade from high-altitude farming communities.

Guardian Membership

Named, verified preservation of specific landscapes.

Origin Expeditions

Exclusive field access for partners and members.

Why Banyan Group

Two brands built
on the same conviction.

Banyan Group is the rare hospitality brand whose sustainability commitment is structural, not decorative. The 'Stay for Good' framework, the Brand for Good philosophy, the Green Imperative Fund, the network of 300+ artisan partners, these are not marketing positions. They are operating principles. Planet 5 was built for exactly this kind of partner.

Banyan Group's Commitments
'Stay for Good' flagship sustainability program across all properties
'Brand for Good' framework, regenerative impact beyond sustainability
Banyan Gallery 'Gifts for Good' retail arm for artisan products with meaning
Green Imperative Fund, guest-donation matching for verified impact
Network of 300+ artisan groups globally, direct community economic model
UN SDG reporting: Goals 12, 13, 15, 17
Planet 5's Natural Alignment
Preservation photography as 'Visual Stewardship,' images that carry a mission
Direct-trade coffee treats farmers as artisans, mirroring Banyan's 339-community network
Guardian Membership provides measurable, reportable impact for GRI disclosures
Extensive East African photography archive ready now, ahead of your Africa openings
Regenerative model, 'Embracing the Environment, Empowering People' in practice
Banyan Gallery's prestige direction (Christian Dior, 2025) is exactly where Planet 5 is built to live
The Africa Moment · Why Now

A rare alignment of timing.
Three properties. One window.

Banyan Group's 2026 African expansion arrives at a moment when Planet 5 holds an extensive East African photography archive ready to deploy as founding visual identity before a single guest arrives. This is not a cold pitch. It is a creative partnership arriving at exactly the moment it is needed.

Phase 01 · Urgent
Ubuyu
Ruaha National Park, Tanzania · Opening 2026
Banyan Group's first safari retreat. Pre-opening imagery window is open now. Planet 5's East African wildlife collection maps directly to the Ruaha landscape.
Phase 02 · 2026
Ilha Caldeira
Private Island, Mozambique
Ultra-luxury private island development. Marine and coastal preservation photography complements the land-based Ruaha narrative. Natural Phase 2 expansion.
Phase 02 · 2026
Dhawa Ouidah
Benin, West Africa
First West African property. New regional geography for Planet 5 storytelling and a culturally rich preservation narrative in an emerging luxury market.
The Partnership Framework

Three Pillars.
One Holistic Experience.

Each pillar is designed to stand alone and work together. Visual Stewardship creates the aesthetic world. The Preservation Experience deepens the guest relationship with the land. The Guardian Legacy gives that relationship permanence. Together, they create something no other hospitality partnership offers: a stay that is also a preservation act.

Pillar 01 of 03
01

Visual Stewardship.
Fine Art Photography.

Planet 5's East African photography archive offers Banyan Group a founding visual language for its African properties. Not stock photography. Not commissioned shoots. Living fine art from active preservation expeditions, available now.

  • Place-Setting imagery for pre-opening marketing, press, and digital channels, curated for each property's specific landscape
  • Lobby and corridor print installations, archival fine art, numbered editions, each carrying the story of the ecosystem depicted
  • In-room fine art, a single signature photograph per suite, selected for the view from that room
  • Banyan Gallery fine art prints, numbered, signed, available for guest purchase with preservation certificate included
  • Ongoing exclusive imagery from Planet 5's upcoming Africa expedition
02

The Preservation
Experience.
Heritage Coffee.

Banyan Group's founding ethos is 'Embracing the Environment, Empowering People.' Planet 5's Heritage Coffee was built on exactly that principle. Sourced through direct-trade relationships with high-altitude farming communities, every bag treats the farmer as an artisan, named, credited, compensated directly. This is not supply chain management. It is the Stay for Good philosophy expressed as a cup of coffee.

The First Light Ritual
"At the hour before the dawn game drive, the quiet, the anticipation, the light over the plains."

A Heritage Coffee service at the most sacred moment of the safari day. The same coffee that funds the communities who live alongside the animals your guests are about to meet.

  • In-room single-origin service with farm story card naming the grower, altitude, and preserved acreage
  • Heritage Gift Box in Banyan Gallery, coffee, signed preservation print, and Guardian Membership card as one luxury object
  • Banyan Gallery already works with 339 artisan communities. Heritage Coffee extends that model into F&B. The farmer is not anonymous. They are the story.
  • Future African-origin edition as Planet 5 deepens East African farming partnerships
Pillar 03 of 03
03

The Guardian Legacy.
Named Preservation.

The most powerful experiential offer a luxury hotel can make to a guest who has just spent four days watching elephants move through golden light. It transforms a beautiful stay into a permanent relationship with the place they have just fallen in love with.

At Checkout
Named Preservation
A formal, measured area of the wilderness preserved in the guest's name. A certificate. A signed print. A legacy that outlasts the stay.
SDG Reportable
Verified Impact
Certified hectares preserved per Guardian enrollment. Available for Banyan Group's annual GRI sustainability reporting. Goals 13 and 17.
Property-Branded
Ubuyu Guardian
Named membership tiers specific to each Banyan property. A 'Ruaha Guardian.' An 'Ilha Guardian.' The place, made permanent.
Origin Expeditions

What no other hospitality
brand can offer.

Multi-day, small-group preservation experiences led by an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and a professional documentary crew.

Origin Expeditions

Three decades. Seven continents.
One expedition leader.

Planet 5 Origin Expeditions are multi-day, small-group preservation experiences led by Emmy-nominated filmmaker Dirk Collins and a professional documentary crew. Collins has spent three decades filming on seven continents. He co-founded Teton Gravity Research. He participated in the Rolex expedition to install the highest weather station on Mount Everest. He documented Mike Horn's 2,000-mile traverse of Antarctic sea ice. He has produced content for National Geographic, Disney, Red Bull, The North Face, and DJI. Origin Expeditions bring that caliber of field experience directly to Banyan's African properties.

The guests who book Ubuyu, Ilha Caldeira, and Dhawa Ouidah are not looking for a standard safari or a resort experience. They are looking for something they cannot get anywhere else. An Origin Expedition puts them in the field alongside a world-class filmmaker, participating in the real work of documenting wildlife, communities, and landscapes at the highest professional standard. They leave with something no luxury stay can provide on its own. A named Guardian membership in the landscape they just experienced. Professional imagery of their time in the field. And the knowledge that their presence funded preservation of the place they fell in love with.

For Banyan, the expedition program creates a premium guest experience that elevates every African property beyond traditional hospitality. It generates professional documentary and photography content. It delivers measurable preservation outcomes that feed directly into sustainability reporting. And it positions Banyan as the only luxury hospitality brand in the world offering this kind of access.

Tanzania

Ubuyu, Ruaha

7 days. Savannah photography. Predator documentation along the Great Ruaha River. Mobile bush camps. Walking safaris. Community immersion with Ruaha Carnivore Project rangers.

Mozambique

Ilha Caldeira

5 to 6 days. Reef documentation by dhow inside Africa's largest marine reserve. Underwater photography workshops. Fishing village visits. Seasonal whale shark encounters.

Benin

Dhawa Ouidah

5 to 6 days. Cultural preservation in the spiritual capital of Vodun. Pirogue expeditions through mangrove channels. Sacred forest documentation. The most extraordinary living heritage in West Africa.

The Staff Preview

Banyan's team
experiences it first.

We recommend beginning with a staff preview at Ubuyu. Dirk and a professional crew spend 5 to 7 days on the ground, with 4 to 6 senior Banyan staff joining for 2 to 3 days. They experience the expedition themselves, see how the media is created in the field, and become the first Guardians of the Ruaha landscape. This produces founding content and internal advocates before a single guest expedition launches.

A Living Content Engine

Content that grows
every season.

Every expedition produces professional documentary film, fine art photography, and short-form content at the highest standard. This is not influencer material. It is the kind of storytelling that built National Geographic and Discovery. Banyan receives a living content engine tied to real preservation outcomes, refreshed with every expedition, season after season.

The Living Story · Digital & Social Content

Exclusive stories,
shared across
both platforms.

Planet 5 and Banyan Group share not just a philosophy but an audience. Planet 5 will create a dedicated stream of exclusive co-branded content for Banyan Group's social and digital channels, telling the story of the partnership as it unfolds in real time. Both brands share in its telling.

Expedition Dispatches
Real-time field content from East Africa. Dirk Collins at dawn over Ruaha. Exclusive behind-the-scenes access formatted for Banyan's Instagram, LinkedIn, and digital channels.
Property Stories
As each African property opens, co-branded content reveals Planet 5 photographs on its walls, the First Light ritual at dawn, guests becoming guardians.
The Guardian Journey
Short-form storytelling following guests who become guardians, the moment of commitment, the landscape they now protect, the annual updates that keep the story alive.
Behind the Art
Exclusive mini-documentary content featuring Dirk Collins on the photographs installed in Banyan properties. Available for in-room digital channels as well as social.
The Guest Experience Arc · A Stay with Meaning

From arrival
to forever.

Every touchpoint has been designed as part of a single, seamless narrative arc, from the moment a guest arrives to the moment they become a guardian of the place they have left behind.

Arrival
A Planet 5 preservation photograph in the lobby. The landscape the guest is about to enter, documented by a fine art photographer who has spent decades in these wild places. A quiet signal that this stay is different.
The Room
A single signature fine art print selected for the specific suite. A Heritage Coffee welcome amenity with a farm story card. The wilderness begins here.
First Light
At the hour before the dawn game drive, a Heritage Coffee ritual. The same coffee that funds the communities who live alongside the animals your guests are about to meet.
The Gallery
Banyan Gallery carries the Heritage Gift Box and signed preservation prints. A gift that is also a legacy.
Departure
A Guardian Membership at checkout. A named, measured area of wilderness preserved in their name. A certificate. A print. A permanent relationship with this place.
Beyond
Annual preservation reports, expedition updates, and fine art releases keep the guest connected to the landscape long after they have returned home. The stay never truly ends.
The Planet 5 Team

The people
behind the work.

Dirk Collins
Co-Founder & CEO
Emmy-nominated filmmaker and fine art photographer. Leads all creative vision, expedition filmmaking, and preservation partnerships. Thirty years of field experience across seven continents.
Allegra Meredith
Co-Founder & COO
Leads operations, partnerships infrastructure, and organisational strategy. Ensures every partnership commitment is delivered with precision and care.
Laura Pizzarelli
SVP Brand & Creative
Leads global partnerships strategy for Planet 5 and serves as the executive contact for Banyan Group across all three African properties. Drives brand positioning, creative development, and partnership execution.
Proposed Next Steps

How we begin.

01
Introductory call with Nina Van Mil, Hazel Ooi, and Amanda Tan to present the three-pillar framework and discuss the Africa visual stewardship opportunity in detail.
02
Curate a tailored photography lookbook from Planet 5's East African archive for Ubuyu, Ilha Caldeira, and Dhawa Ouidah, each property receiving imagery specific to its landscape.
03
Send physical sample kits to Louise Rohner at Ubuyu and Applelynn Teo at Banyan Gallery Singapore, Heritage Coffee, signed preservation print, and Guardian Membership materials.
04
Align with Ernest Chaweka on the 'First Light' ritual concept and Guardian Membership guest experience for the Ubuyu opening in May 2026.
05
Develop a formal partnership agreement covering visual rights, coffee placement, Guardian integration, and expedition content exclusivity across the African property pipeline.
"We do not preserve the wild because it is fragile. We preserve it because it is magnificent, and because the people who experience it most deeply are the ones who understand, better than anyone, why it must endure."
Dirk Collins · Co-Founder, Planet 5

Planet 5 was built for partnerships exactly like this one. The timing, the geography, the philosophy, and the shared commitment to preservation all point to the same conclusion. We look forward to the conversation.