My cousin Heather’s working with two former Stanford football players on a business venture called Fan Travel, one that allows Stanford fans to purchase discounted travel packages to the Fiesta Bowl. She asked if I’d give their company a shoutout, and out of the goodness of my heart (no money or travel deals for me, I’m just a really, really amazing cousin), I told her I would.
If you’re thinking about heading to Arizona to see Stanford face off against Oklahoma State on January 2, and you’re interested in a package deal that will save you some money and connect you with several like-minded Cardinal fans, read this message by co-founder Alex Loukas:
Brian Bulcke and I (co-founders) were seniors on last year’s Orange Bowl Championship Football Team. In our final year, we began to realize the value of the tremendous support our family showed every weekend. Unknown to most people, moms and dads of starting players try to travel to every game! And in these though economic times, these expenses can become too much.
The idea simply sparked from the want to help our parents better travel to football games. The beautiful thing about being a true FAN is that you love traveling all over nation to follow your team and love traveling with those who share your fanaticism! And the idea of FanTravel.com was born…
Simply put, FanTravel.com brings deals to fans that deserve to take advantage of their group buying power. Hotels, transportation, tailgates, and all the amenities that make up college gameday served up on a dish with a very affordable price tag.
Brian and I believed that both fan and merchant win. Merchants gain access to massive numbers of customers, otherwise unkown and unreachable to the merchant, while fans finally get the savings that groups of their size deserve. While trying to figure out how to explain ourselves, family and friends have begun to dub us the Groupon of College Gameday!
No Stanford start-up story would be complete without a touch of serendipity. Brian and I have been fortunate enough to grow the idea of FanTravel with the guidance of TUI Travel, the world’s leading leisure travel group. It is only fitting that our partnership began with a meeting in Miami where a group of Stanford Football Seniors met a group of TUI Travel Executives during the Orange Bowl Celebrations. What are the chances?!? A Few months later, FanTravel was officially incorporated.
We launched a very successful test run in USC. We hosted a bus of Stanford fans for a two-night stay in LA and came home with a triple overtime win and successful FanTravel first!
EX: our simplest package will be offering 2-nights stay at a 4-star hotel, transportation to/from the airport, transportation to/from the game, welcome party the night before, tailgate before the game, bowl swag and 24/7 travel rep service. All for just over 200 bucks. We are excited to sell this to our fans, friends and family and that’s cool!
Alex Loukas (co-frounder)
Brian Bulcke (co-founder)
USC weekend succes (video on Facebook page)
Special code to enter if you sign up: REDZONE25
