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Former NHL Star Brooks Laich Enters Travel Space With World Playground’s Wholesale Booking Model

SPORTS

5/27/20262 min read

Jeff Shafar and Brooks Laich (Courtesy of World Playground).

Imagine booking your dream vacation at the same prices travel industry insiders pay. That's no longer a fantasy. World Playground launched today with an exciting mission: to make extraordinary travel genuinely affordable for everyone, stripping away the unnecessary markups that have stood between people and their next great adventure.

A Fresh, Traveler-First Approach to Booking

World Playground is an innovative online travel booking platform offering true wholesale hotel pricing, industry-level cruise rates, and honest travel insurance, all with complete price transparency. The results speak for themselves: consumers are already saving an average of 18 percent per booking compared to other major platforms. That's real money back in travelers' pockets, ready to be spent on the experiences that matter most.

Co-founded by retired NHL player Brooks Laich and seasoned marketing entrepreneur Jeff Shafar, World Playground was built on a simple but powerful belief, that more people deserve access to the transformative joy that travel brings.

Turning the Travel Industry on Its Head

Traditional booking platforms have long operated with a business model that quietly works against the traveler, stacking commissions and fees onto every reservation. World Playground flips that model entirely. Instead of pocketing industry commissions on cruises and travel insurance, the platform passes them back to customers as Travel Credits. On hotels, travelers get access to true net rates, the same wholesale prices previously available only to industry insiders.

The result is a booking experience that feels refreshingly honest, one where the price you see is a price you can feel genuinely great about.

Passion for Travel, Built Into Every Feature

Brooks Laich's inspiration for World Playground runs deep. A remarkable career in the NHL took him across North America, and his post-hockey life has been filled with extraordinary adventures, summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, swimming alongside whales in Tonga, and immersing himself in cultures across the globe. Those life-changing experiences fuel his passion for making travel accessible to all.

"Those experiences and the memories I've created along the way have brought so much joy and meaning to my life," said Laich. "World Playground is about making the world more affordable and accessible for all."

Jeff Shafar's decade-plus of expertise running Hippo Bear Media, a digital marketing agency serving healthcare, sports, and hospitality brands, translates into a platform that's as beautiful and intuitive to use as it is financially rewarding. As COO, he's helped craft a booking experience that's seamless, inspiring, and designed to get you excited about wherever you're headed next.

The World Is Waiting

World Playground is more than a travel site, it's a movement dedicated to helping more people explore, discover, and create unforgettable memories without financial stress holding them back.

Your next great adventure is closer than you think. Start exploring at worldplayground.co.

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