Point Park University launched a new travel Web site that benefits the university’s scholarship program.
The Web site, www.pointpark.edu/travel, connects users with travel deals for flights, hotels, cruises, group vacations and car rentals at comparable prices to other travel sites like Expedia and Orbitz.
The site has been launched through Your Time to Build (YTB) travel, which is an organization that offers travel deals through Web sites for nonprofit organizations, such as churches and universities looking to raise money. YTB began in January 2001 in Anton, Ill., according to the YTB Web site.
At the end of 2007, YTB had $414 million in sales, and in 2008, it was named one of the top travel agencies in the United States by Travel Weekly, one of the most prominent magazines in the travel industry. The organizations that use this Web site receive their money through commission just like other travel sites.
Sheila Rawlings, coordinator of Donor Relations University Advancement at Point Park, said she heard about YTB four years ago. She went to an information session and found out YTB offers a great opportunity for the university.
Point Park will earn 60 percent commission from purchases through the site, Rawlings said.
“There are literally hundreds of universities and nonprofit organization that go through YTB,” Rawlings said.
The travel site currently advertises deals for cruises such as a seven-day Costa Caribbean cruise with ocean view rooms at only $699 and a Mediterranean cruise with prices starting at $899 per person. It also offers deals for seven cruise lines, including Disney. Customers also have the opportunity to purchase their shore excursions through the site before going on the cruise.
The vacation deals include trips to Cancun, Mexico for five days at $452 per person, including flight, hotel, taxes and fees. There are several packages to Europe, like an eight-day tour that includes places like Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels for $1,499. The site also advertises Resort Condominium International (RCI) resort vacation certificates. The certificates are for one-week vacations at a range of properties in 60,000 destinations for only $379.
