Founded by long-term friends and Armonk moms Amy Aberman and Hollie Levy in the fall of 2023, the youth travel website GTG Abroad was inspired by their experience helping their own college-age kids navigate everything from packing lists to last-minute weekend itineraries. Recognizing the need for a centralized platform, they created the site to simplify travel planning for students.
Including “Know before you go” and “Live like a Local” sections, it’s the kind of dedicated resource you would think was so necessary that it must surely have existed before. But in its scope and appeal, the women seem to have stumbled upon a genuine gap in the market.
Offering more than 50 curated two-day itineraries for cities like London, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Copenhagen, as well as parts of Australia (with Asia coming aboard this year,) GTG features crowd-sourced recommendations that include accommodations, restaurants, activities and nightlife, enriched by insights from college “ambassadors.”
Some typical pieces of advice: “Bring your own deodorant, because it’s not the same here” (Florence); and “the rooftop of the Gymage Lounge Resort is sick for when it gets warm” (Madrid.)
When GTG Abroad launched, Aberman and Levy told the Westfair Business Journal, its initial seven ambassadors were friends, or friends of friends. Just over a year on, nearly all of its 60-plus current crop have actually found GTG through word of mouth and social media, or were recommended by previous ambassadors. All student ambassadors are college-aged students at U.S. schools – a large number, we noted, from Tulane University in New Orleans.
“The ambassadors’ job is to be our ‘eyes and ears,’” the pair said. “They update us regularly about where they are visiting, what they are eating, their accommodations, nightlife and anything else relevant to the GTG website and social media.” The two also recently added a “Friday Finds” post to their social media, a section that highlights places or activities the ambassadors have recently discovered. All information is then transferred to the website, which is updated at least weekly and often daily.
Additional aid comes from their own kids – they have five between them – who help with ideas, itineraries, social media, business analysis/development and computer programming tips. “Since the idea came out of our own kids living and traveling abroad, sometimes by the skin of their teeth, it has made them really invest in the concept,” the women said.
Asked about their audience, Aberman and Levy said their target demographic was primarily college students living and traveling abroad for a semester. But the information also appeals to students setting out to enjoy private, independent travel. They mentioned, too, that they had recently been seeing younger travelers, kids just out of college or even those still in high school traveling with family, looking for more age-appropriate activities and restaurants (“to try to talk their parents into booking”).
The goal, they said, was to grab the attention of all young travelers, not just in the United States but globally.Another recent initiative, one designed to monetize the service, has been the launch of GTG Abroad’s Elite Member Portal. Built on a subscription model, members can “buy in” and receive major incentives not found on the regular website, which is free and available to all. Priced at $49.99, those incentives include a coupon book with more than $1,000 worth of discounts and benefits that can be used throughout Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Additionally, members can make their own unique favorites lists, recommendations that can be shared with fellow GTG Elite members.
Additional revenue comes from merchandising, via an affiliate link to Amazon, for essentials such as plugs, chargers, backpacks and neck-pillows, with another link for less-essential beauty items. These include TSA size-compliant Peripera Ink Glasting Lip Gloss (“for fuller-looking lips”) and a $50 silk sleep-mask – presumably for the “better-off” or at any rate more beauty-conscious student traveler.
But it’s back down to earth again with most of the ambassadors’ travel tips: “When it comes to student travel, it is typically the same mantra – pack light, pack it in, wear comfortable shoes and expect an occasional travel snafu.”
