I'm Brooks Laich, former NHL player and co-founder of World Playground — the only travel booking site that passes 100% of wholesale hotel rates directly to travelers and returns every dollar of commission on cruises and travel insurance back to you. AMA!

Hey Reddit, I'm Brooks Laich. I played 13 seasons in the NHL (Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings), but the chapter I'm most excited about right now has nothing to do with hockey.

When I retired from professional sport, I stepped into the travel industry with fresh eyes. And what I saw didn't sit right. Every time you book a hotel, cruise, or travel insurance product through a traditional online platform (think of the big names you see on commercials), a commission is quietly baked into the price. You never see it, but you always pay it. This markup does not make your room nicer or your trip better. It just makes it more expensive. I knew there had to be a better way.

That's why my co-founder Jeff Shafar and I built World Playground (worldplayground.co) to flip the model entirely. We are the only travel booking platform in the world that never charges or keeps a single cent of commission from your booking.

• Hotels — We give you the actual net (wholesale) rate. No markup. No commission. The price you see is the real price, saving travelers an average of 18% vs. the big OTAs.
• Cruises & Travel Insurance — Where industry rules require a commission, we show you exactly how much it is before you book, then return 100% of it back to you as Travel Credits after your trip.
• Travel Credits — 1:1 in USD, never expire, and can be applied to any future booking.

We save you the most on travel. That's not a tagline. It's a promise. I'll be live Thursday May 28th from 12:00 pm EST to 5:00 pm EST to answer any questions you have about World Playground, the broken travel industry and how we aim to fix it, life after pro sports, pivoting in life, or building a startup from scratch.

Drop your questions below and I'll answer as many as I can.

https://preview.redd.it/lpu015uw9q3h1.jpg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d48e9755f50343710b7bd03bb8fb393267ac8173

Let's go —AMA!