Whenever one of our clients says, “what do I do with all this stuff?” one of our suggestions is to recommend focusing on experiences. This practice works especially well when it comes to feeling overwhelmed by children’s toys. We spoke with Olivia Leon from Pretzl about ways to easily find activities if you don’t want to add to the playroom.
For the busy person, what is Pretzl?
Pretzl is the OpenTable for kids’ activities, a site for parents to search through thousands of classes, camps and birthday party options and book on the spot. Without any fees ever, parents can search on criteria that matter most to them like the child’s age, location, activity type, day of the week/time, making it easier than ever to find just what they are looking for and discover new activities they didn’t know were out there.
Whether a parent is looking for a class or a camp for the summer, planning a child’s next birthday party, or just wants to try something new over weekend, Pretzl is here to help.
What is the company's origin story, how did you pick the name?
My co-founder and I were sharing our frustrations about how difficult it was to find new and different activities for our kids. We knew that there were amazing offerings out there, but no easy way to find them and compare options. We knew that there had to be a better way and Pretzl was born.
According to some historians, the earliest pretzels were dubbed “pretiolas,” meaning “little rewards.” We want to, “give kids the reward of amazing experiences and give their parents the reward of easily finding and booking those experiences.”
How is Pretzl different than calendar of event sites?
Most directory sites will list options, but parents can’t book the activity on the site. They have to go to the venue’s site or call the venue during the hours of operation. On Pretzl, customers can search through thousands of kids' classes, camps, birthday party options and events and book anytime day or night. Unlike man “calendar of event sites,” we don’t just list dozens of activities and happenings (which can become unwieldy and overwhelming for parents). We enable Pretzl users to filter and sort our thousands of offerings on criteria that matter most to them like date and time, location, age, activity type, etc. and then book on the spot. Lastly, booking through Pretzl also allows parents to keep kids' busy schedules organized all in one place.
What are some of the most popular events?
We are finding that there is no “most popular” event or class. Our bookings range all of the options one would expect - from Fine Art to Martial Arts to the Digital Arts and sports like Soccer, Tennis and Golf and all types of dance. But some our most popular bookings are the unexpected activities such as a Paleontologist Camp, an Earring Making Workshop and even an Ice Cream Making Class. We have also seen a spike in the demand for single day activities with the recent school holidays.
