BU alums launch camp-searching website

With the help of a new website, parents won’t have to stress over finding the perfect summer camp for little Susie or Johnny. ChoiceCamps.com allows users to narrow camp choices by such specifications as camp specialty, religious affiliation and whether the camp is co-ed.

The site, which launched Monday, was created by Nick Riotto, a 2006 College of Communication alumnus, and Peter Ross, a 2006 College of Arts and Sciences alumnus. Both men were life-long summer campers, and their site provides free advice online and by phone for over 300 of the world’s overnight summer camps and teen tours from California to Australia.

‘With more than 12,000 summer camps in the United States, families often have difficulty finding a program that is a great fit for their child,’ Riotto, said. ‘Our service helps families narrow down these choices.’

Both Riotto and Ross said they held many leadership positions at BU that gave them the skills and motivation to start their own website. Riotto was the College of General Studies Student Government president, a dean’s host, student advisor and head of marketing at BUTV. Ross was a Student Union senator and a dean’s host.

‘Our experience as BU student government leaders inspired us to push ahead with new ideas even when people told us ‘no’ or ‘that’s impossible,” Riotto said. ‘The administrators and professors at the College of General Studies were always very supportive of our goals and provided a great foundation throughout our years at BU.’

As two childhood summer campers themselves, Riotto and Ross have an extensive history with camps. Ross’ grandfather founded Cody, a residential camp in New Hampshire, which he continues to manage, and Riotto attended a New Jersey day camp throughout his childhood and worked as a camp counselor during high school.

They said they used their combined experiences to develop an easy to use, one-stop resource containing all of the information a camp-seeker would need to find the appropriate program.

‘We spoke with camp directors, parents and campers in order to produce a website everyone would value,’ Ross said.

Because families can search for camps by type, location, camper age, gender, religious affiliation and session length, the website is similar to sites such as Travelocity and Expedia, Riotto said. The site returns a list of matching programs that families can review.

‘It is designed to be quick, intuitive and highly refined to deliver the best possible results to our families,’ Riotto said.

Arlene Smith, a parent from North Caldwell, N.J., said the new site made deciding where to send her child for camp easier.’

‘With so many camps to choose from, I had a hard time telling them apart,’ Smith said.

Each profile also features a review of the camp written by a ‘Choice Camps Expert’.

‘Our team personally reviews each program and describes in detail the setting, accommodations, safety standards and staff qualifications,’ Riotto said.’

‘I trust the website because of all of the detailed information it provides,’ Steve Levanti, a parent from Westport, Conn. said.

The site incorporates over 6,000 photos and 100 videos, and, in many cases, has more media than a camp’s own web site, Riotto said. They hope to have 1,000 camps and trips on the site by next year.

‘ ‘Our goal is to continue to innovate, expand and inspire families to send their children to summer camp,’ he said. ‘Having grown up at camp, I know firsthand how important a camp experience is to the development of a child. Summer camp is a must.’