StudentUniverse

StudentUniverse is one of the two largest discount student travel sellers in the world. It was founded in 2000, and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company's value proposition is to offer student, faculty, and youth discounts, and flexibility, with an average discount over published rates, based on a sample survey, of 14%. The company has proprietary verification technology that allows it to verify student status. StudentUniverse sells exclusive airfare deals for its verified members from its airline partners. The company offers 24/7 customer service.

Website

StudentUniverse.com

is a travel website that is dedicated to college student, faculty, and youth travel. The site offers airfare tickets, hotel and hostel bookings, travel insurance, and other travel products.

The website also features a non-conventional search engine called FarePlay

which allows users to search for airfare by airport, region, or theme.

StudentUniverse also offers group travel services

for groups of 12 or more people.

Business Model

StudentUniverse sells travel products to college students, faculty, and 18-25 year-olds. By verifying their members' enrollment at an accredited, degree-granting college, the company is able to offer discounted airfares from their airline partners. Such airfares are not guaranteed to be cheaper than the retail airfares (what is available in the market). The company does not charge for membership. However, it does charge a $6 (USD) service fee.

History

Founded in 1992 as a student travel agency, StudentUniverse launched its online presence in 2000. The company was founded by Fredrik Carl Størmer and Espen Ødegård.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2010, leading online student and faculty travel provider StudentUniverse.com announced in January 2010 it extended its discounted travel services to a broader range of young travelers. The new StudentUniverse.com Youth Travel Discounts enables travelers ages 18-25 – high school students right through recent college grads – to save money on airfares across the US and around the world.

Partners

StudentUniverse has over 30 major airline partners

and is the official student airfare partner of Orbitz.com.

StudentUniverse has also partnered with Edhance. Edhance allows college students to register up to five existing Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit or debit cards and automatically receive discounts when shopping with participating merchants.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/