As travel restrictions lift and many Aussies are feeling the pinch of the pandemic, a new website has launched to give travellers the freedom to book now and pay in weekly instalments.
Play Travel is an ATAS-accredited online travel agency, rebranded from LayAway Travel and supported by investment from Afterpay’s venture capital arm, AP Ventures.
The OTA adopts a traditional layby model in that customers are able to pick and book a holiday package and pay for it in full or in weekly instalments over a two- to 12-month period before they travel.
Play Travel’s purpose-built website allows customers to carefully budget their travel so they can nominate how much they want to contribute to their ‘holiday fund’ on a weekly basis and assemble a suitable itinerary around their budget.
The complete version of Play Travel, which will launch at the end of 2020, will give users the ability to curate an itinerary that also allows them to bundle flights, accommodation and experiences.
Andrew Paykel, CEO and managing director of Play Travel said the new OTA is a direct response to customer feedback.
“Afterpay’s existing customer base uses instalments as an effective budgeting tool, so it’s only natural they should want to pay for travel in the same way,” he said.
“Play Travel’s interest-free payments open the door for many Australians who want to start travelling again, but also want to be in control of their personal finances and avoid coming back from a trip with debt lag.”
