Former NHL star Brooks Laich and co-founder Jeff Shafar recently announced the debut of World Playground, an online travel booking platform built to bring true wholesale hotel pricing and industry-level rates on cruises and travel insurance directly to consumers.
Laich created World Playground after years of inspiration and global explorations, from his NHL career to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to swimming with whales in Tonga. Laich saw firsthand how transformative travel could be and how cost and hidden markups often deter many from experiencing it.
World Playground disrupts the traditional online travel agency model of inflating the cost of travel through added commissions and markups by offering the same un-inflated insider rates reserved for industry professionals, making global travel more affordable.
So far, World Playground has saved consumers an average 18 percent per booking compared to competitor sites.
“I’ve been fortunate to travel the world and do things most people only dream about, from playing hockey all across North America to exploring all across Africa,” said Laich, founder, World Playground. “Those experiences and the memories I’ve created along the way have brought so much joy and meaning to my life. I founded World Playground because I want everyone to be able to have the same opportunity to create memories. World Playground is about making the world more affordable and accessible for all.”
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