As partners, STA Travel’s product features, deals and giveaways are built into the Rayka app to serve as a more comprehensive resource for student travelers.
CHANCDLER, ARIZONA – World student and youth travel agent, STA Travel, announced that it is teaming up with student-only review platform, Rayka, as an Official Travel Partner of the U.S. division. The partnership is a natural fit for both brands, as STA Travel provides the tools for students to book their study abroad experiences, while Rayka helps students build their network and share travel recommendations while abroad. As partners, STA Travel’s product features, deals and giveaways are built into the Rayka app to serve as a more comprehensive resource for student travelers.
STA Travel launched in 1979 with the mission of making travel more accessible to youths with exclusive travel deals and resources for students, or anyone 18 to 35 years old, who are exploring the world. Its mission was attained through partnerships with study abroad programs, tour operators and transportation companies, as well as with programs like BlueTickets, which works with international airlines to offer the lowest and most flexible airfare for students. Rayka, a reference to the Icelandic word for “wander,” fits seamlessly into its Official Travel Partner network with its student-centric platform.
“For almost 40 years, STA Travel has simplified the planning process and provided travel expertise for study abroad students, so they can let the magic of travel happen stress-free. But the expertise of our travel agents isn’t always enough,” said Christine Sutton, Senior Vice President of STA Travel U.S. “Students value the advice from their peers, which Rayka has built as the foundation of its new platform. The partnership pairs our agents’ travel ‘know-how’ with a vast network of student reviews for a more useful and holistic product for students.”
Rayka was launched in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2017 by two graduates of Vanderbilt University who wanted to create a shared knowledge base for international students. The app builds networks of students sharing travel tips and reviews, creates groups for likeminded study abroad students, offers student travel discounts, and helps students bookmark restaurants, bars and attractions for future reference and recommendations.
“It’s exciting to see an established company like STA Travel embracing changes in the travel industry, and continuously innovating and implementing new ideas for the student travelers they serve,” said Landon Sanford, Rayka’s Co-Founder and CEO. “Rayka is looking forward to collaborating with STA, as we both share the mission of helping students travel as much as possible and to create unforgettable experiences during their adventures.”
Angelos is the news editor for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). His role includes to monitor the hundrends of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skim the most important according to our strategy.
He currently studies Communication, Media & Culture in Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens.
