NHL Star's New Venture Aims to Disrupt Travel with Wholesale Prices

LOS ANGELES, CA – May 27, 2026 – In a move that pivots from the hockey rink to the global travel market, former NHL star Brooks Laich, alongside marketing entrepreneur Jeff Shafar, today launched World Playground, a travel booking platform with a bold mission: to dismantle the long-standing pricing structures of online travel agencies (OTAs).

The new venture goes live with a radical promise to “make the unforgettable more affordable” by offering consumers direct access to wholesale hotel prices and industry-level rates on cruises and travel insurance, a domain traditionally reserved for industry insiders.

The Wholesale Promise: A New Playbook for Travel?

World Playground enters a crowded market dominated by giants like Expedia and Booking.com, but it aims to compete not by scale, but by transparency. The company’s core strategy involves stripping away the commissions and markups that have become standard practice for OTAs, which can significantly inflate the final price for consumers.

According to the company, it provides customers with the true “net rates” on hotels. For cruises and travel insurance, where industry rules often mandate commissions, World Playground has implemented a novel system. Instead of pocketing the commission, the platform says it will return the full amount to the customer in the form of “Travel Credits.” These credits, which do not expire, can then be applied to future bookings on the site. This model effectively bypasses the commission-based revenue stream that underpins the traditional OTA business model.

In its initial announcement, World Playground claims this approach has already yielded significant results, stating that early users have saved an average of 18 percent per booking compared to competitor sites. While this figure comes directly from the company and awaits independent verification as the platform gains users, it serves as a powerful headline in its bid to attract cost-conscious travelers.

The sustainability of such a model is a critical question. Many similar “members-only” or “wholesale” travel clubs in the past have relied on subscription fees to generate revenue in place of commissions. While World Playground’s launch materials do not specify a subscription model, the long-term financial strategy for a platform that forgoes traditional revenue streams will be a key factor in its viability.

From the Ice to the Globe: The Vision Behind the Venture

The driving force behind World Playground is Brooks Laich, a name familiar to hockey fans. During a career spanning 776 games with teams like the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs, Laich was known for his leadership and dedication. Now, he is channeling that same focus into entrepreneurship.

Laich’s vision for the company is deeply personal, rooted in a lifetime of global travel afforded by his professional sports career. From climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to swimming with whales in Tonga, he cites these transformative experiences as the inspiration for wanting to lower the financial barriers for others.

“I've been fortunate to travel the world and do things most people only dream about,” Laich said in the launch announcement. “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.”

This narrative of democratizing travel forms the ethical backbone of the brand. It positions World Playground not just as a booking tool, but as a “movement” designed to foster adventure. Laich is joined by co-founder and COO Jeff Shafar, a marketing entrepreneur who brings a decade of experience in digital strategy from his agency, Hippo Bear Media. Shafar’s background in website design and performance-driven marketing is crucial for a venture that must deliver a seamless user experience to compete.

Challenging the Giants: A Look at the Competitive Landscape

World Playground is not the first company to promise cheaper travel, but its high-profile founder and transparent pricing model represent a significant new challenge to the status quo. The online travel market is a multi-billion dollar industry, and established players have built complex and deeply entrenched business models. The new platform's success will depend on its ability to not only offer better prices but also to build trust and a user-friendly experience that can lure customers away from familiar platforms.

The broader travel industry has been cautiously exploring alternatives to the commission model. Subscription-based services are gaining traction, particularly among younger demographics and remote workers who travel frequently. These models offer predictable revenue for companies and potential savings for users, but they have also faced challenges, including a perceived high cost for occasional travelers and a lack of flexibility.

World Playground’s approach—offering wholesale access without an explicitly stated membership fee at launch—could be a clever way to sidestep those initial hurdles. By focusing on the direct savings on each booking, it makes a simple and compelling case to a broad audience. The platform claims to offer a “visually immersive, intuitive platform,” suggesting that technology and user experience are as central to its strategy as pricing. However, with the platform having just gone live, these claims about the user experience are yet to be tested by the public at large.

The road ahead is challenging. Gaining market share requires not only a competitive product but also a massive marketing effort to build brand awareness. Yet, by tackling the issue of hidden fees and markups head-on, World Playground is tapping into a growing consumer demand for transparency. If it can deliver on its promise consistently, it could force a wider conversation in the industry about pricing, fairness, and what it truly costs to travel.