SDSU grads launch vacation-planning business

Sept. 20, 2019

Longtime friends Tarin Smallfield and Paul Fritz have a passion for traveling on a budget.

The 2018 SDSU graduates and economics majors quickly found that financing their love of travel wasn’t an easy task, and now they’re bringing their money-saving ideas to customers with their business, VacayLife.

The vacation-planning site launched this summer and offers two subscription packages: annual or personalized. VacayLife has had dozens of subscribers — a number that continues to grow, Smallfield said.

The yearly subscription costs $24.99 and sends two vacation packages to the subscriber’s email every week, or 104 packages per year.

The $24.99 personalized subscription does relatively the same thing while also taking work schedules, time and travel preferences into account.

“VacayLife is our way of sharing amazing deals so others can fulfill their dream of seeing the world,” Fritz said.

The pair does this by determining the least-expensive travel day from one major airport to another. Then, they find hotels, Airbnb properties and rental cars for the lowest possible prices within the timeframe of the travel days.

They also create a “bucket list” of popular activities and attractions at each destination.

“In addition, we are not affiliated with any travel group, allowing for completely unbiased deals,” Smallfield said. “This gives us an advantage over the traditional travel agent. We only share deals we would purchase ourselves.”

Fritz and Smallfield work full-time jobs outside of VacayLife. Fritz is a credit analyst with an agricultural financing company, and Smallfield is a financial institution examiner for the South Dakota Division of Banking.

They hope to establish themselves as trustworthy travel advisers and someday offer additional packages and subscriptions.

“We both have a passion for seeing new places and experiencing different cultures,” Smallfield said. “We take away the hassle and headache of planning and coordinating the details by sending out deals that are ready to book with the click of a button.”

For information on the services VacayLife can offer, visit the website or Facebook page.

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SDSU grads launch vacation-planning business

A passion for traveling and a need to do so on a budget led these recent SDSU grads into business ownership.

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