Dragonfly Strategists
Dragonfly Strategists is a boutique hospitality advisory firm that delivers integrated revenue management, distribution, technology implementation, and commercial strategy services to independent, boutique, luxury, and lifestyle hotels and small-to-medium hotel companies globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersPhoenix, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Dragonfly Strategists does
Dragonfly Strategists is a boutique hospitality advisory and services firm founded in 2016 by Caryl Helsel, headquartered in Phoenix, AZ with an administrative office in Brooklyn, NY. The firm delivers integrated commercial, operations, and IT advisory to independent, boutique, luxury, and lifestyle hotels as well as small-to-medium hotel companies and management groups globally. Core service lines span revenue management, distribution, sales and marketing, contact center, operations, technology advisory and implementation, and project/change management, with the team certified to install major platforms including Oracle OPERA Cloud, Mews, Cloudbeds, Optii, and Actabl.
The firm monetizes through four streams: recurring advisory retainers for fractional revenue management and commercial strategy; project-based consulting for system implementations, migrations, pre-opening, and technology selection; training and education programs; and interim leadership placements. Proprietary assets include the COSi (Commercial Optimization Strategic insight) comp set assessment tool, customizable RFP databases, and system health audit tools, with AI-forward tooling for RFP automation, commercial intelligence, and forecasting reported as in development. Pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed, though flexible payment plans and discounts are offered for recovery engagements.
Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, combining direct enterprise outreach led by a VP of Business Development, technology partner referrals (the firm maintains vendor-agnostic positioning by declining referral fees), and a heavy community presence via industry boards (HEDNA, HSMAI, Stay Boutique) and conferences. The company has demonstrated multi-year client retention (notably a six-year partnership with Outrigger Hospitality Group), documented outcome-based case studies (45% YOY GDS revenue lift, 100%+ BAR production gains, COVID recovery from 4% to 81% occupancy), and 100+ years of combined executive experience across leading hotel brands.
Dragonfly Strategists firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Dragonfly Strategists
- Legal name
- Dragonfly Advisory Group LLC
- Website
- https://dragonflystr.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Dragonfly Strategists is a boutique hospitality advisory firm that delivers integrated revenue management, distribution, technology implementation, and commercial strategy services to independent, boutique, luxury, and lifestyle hotels and small-to-medium hotel companies globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Dragonfly Strategists industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Hospitality Advisory & Consulting Services
- NAICS
- Management Consulting Services (54161), Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (541611), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)
- SIC
- Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Corporate Strategy Advisory (BPAHADAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Vendor & Contract Management (Software/Cloud) (BPAEAOAD)
Keywords
Where Dragonfly Strategists is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Phoenix
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Dragonfly Strategists business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Advisory Retainers: Fractional revenue management strategy and optimization services delivered on an ongoing basis. Includes commercial strategy alignment, revenue management audits, and reporting and analytics. Long-term advisory relationships acting as extension of client teams.
- Project-Based Consulting: One-time and scoped engagements including system implementations and migrations, technology search and selection, interim task force support, sales and marketing strategy engagements, pre-opening and launch management, and change management projects.
- Training and Education: Revenue management training, playbook development, team coaching, and professional development programs. Grounded in industry best practices and real-world application.
- Interim Leadership Services: Interim revenue leadership, sales leadership, and contact center operational support placed as extension of client teams during resource or expertise gaps.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Custom advisory retainers for ongoing revenue management and commercial strategy services |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based consulting engagements for technology implementations, migrations, and advisory |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Recovery services with flexible and affordable options |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Dragonfly Strategists product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Dragonfly Strategists is a boutique hospitality advisory firm that delivers integrated commercial, operations, and IT advisory services to independent, boutique, luxury, and lifestyle hotels as well as small-to-medium hotel companies. Core services span revenue management, distribution, technology advisory and certified implementation, sales and marketing, contact center operations, and project/change management across the full hotel lifecycle from pre-opening through stabilization. The firm also offers interim executive leadership (revenue, sales, contact center) and proprietary analytical tools including the COSi competitive assessment and system health audit tools.
Product overview
Dragonfly Strategists is a boutique hospitality advisory and services firm offering integrated commercial strategy consulting. Rather than a unified software platform, the offering consists of multiple interconnected advisory service lines: Commercial Strategy Advisory (covering revenue management, distribution, sales, marketing, contact centers, operations, and IT), Revenue Management Advisory, Distribution Advisory, Technology Advisory & Implementation (with certified installations for Oracle, Mews, Cloudbeds, Optii, and Actabl), Project & Change Management Advisory, Contact Center Advisory, Sales & Marketing Advisory, and Operations Advisory. The firm also offers proprietary tools including COSi (Commercial Optimization Strategic insight) for competitive analysis and the Dragonfly Insights Video Series as an educational content program. Services span the full hotel lifecycle from pre-opening through stabilization, and the company maintains technology partnerships across major hospitality platforms including PMS, CRS, RMS, CRM, and POS systems.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Commercial Strategy Advisory Integrated advisory services covering revenue management, distribution, sales, marketing, contact centers, operations, and IT to align a hotel's commercial functions and maximize profitability, including commercial assessments, outsourced revenue & distribution management, and task-force projects.
- Revenue Management Advisory Comprehensive revenue advisory including fractional revenue management strategy, RMS selection and implementation, commercial strategy alignment, revenue audits, KPI development, and access to the proprietary COSi (Commercial Optimization Strategic insight) tool.
- Distribution Advisory Distribution strategy and channel optimization across PMS, CRS, OTAs, GDS, and IBE systems, including rate parity, content management, and distribution system implementations for hotels.
- Technology Advisory & Implementation Technology-agnostic advisory for tech-stack design, system search and selection, implementations, migrations, and integrations across PMS, CRS, RMS, CRM, POS, and guest-experience platforms. Certified installers for Oracle, Mews, Cloudbeds, Optii, and Actabl.
- Project & Change Management Advisory Project management and change management services for technology implementations, new hotel openings, and enterprise technology transformations, including stakeholder alignment, training, and adoption support.
- Contact Center Advisory Contact center strategy and optimization covering assessments, reservation sales performance, interim leadership, PBX and contact center technology, and AI-enabled solutions such as AI voice agents and intelligent call routing.
- Sales & Marketing Advisory Sales strategy, team optimization, sales training, marketing strategy, CRM and email marketing advisory, digital and eCommerce strategy, and marketing performance measurement for hotel sales and marketing teams.
- Operations Advisory Operational assessments, process engineering, workflow optimization, best-practice implementation, training, coaching, and operational technology implementation support for hotels.
- Commercial Optimization Strategic insight (COSi) Proprietary assessment tool that evaluates comp-set positioning based on pricing, guest sentiment, policies, restrictions, and room type differentials. Used during budget season, for new builds, newly acquired hotels, and renovations.
Quantifiable outcome
- 45% YOY increase in GDS revenue for one New York City-based client within first year of engagement
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Dragonfly Strategists
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Dragonfly Strategists technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Dragonfly Strategists partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and key.
- DuettocoreDragonfly co-hosted a webinar with Duetto on next-generation revenue strategies for hotels, featuring Dragonfly's CRO Alise Deeb, Director of Customer Success Marlene Cazares, and Product Marketing Strategy Consultant Mylene Young. The panel discussed shifting from RevPAR-based measurement to profitability metrics like GOPAR, incorporating ancillary revenue, personalization, and dynamic guest segmentation into commercial strategy.
- NaviskeyDragonfly is a sponsor of the Navigate Hospitality Leaders Conference presented by Navis. Dragonfly's Founder & CEO Caryl Helsel moderates sessions at the conference. Navis is described as a best-in-class CRM partner providing turn-key call center and email marketing services.
- SHR Group (Access / Windsurfer)coreDragonfly has deep experience with SHR Group's Access/Windsurfer CRS platform. Collaborated on boutique hotel tech stack content at BLLA conferences. Strong working relationship for distribution and booking engine implementations.
- RevinatecoreDragonfly has implemented Revinate CRM and Guest Data Platform solutions. Case studies demonstrate Dragonfly's expertise deploying Revinate for guest data consolidation, segmentation, email marketing, and reservation sales. Featured in Revinate-published case studies showing $33.5M in direct email revenue.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Dragonfly Strategists competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Avvio: Avvio is a hotel booking platform and technology provider that increasingly bundles advisory and revenue optimization services for independent and boutique hotels. It overlaps Dragonfly's distribution and revenue management advisory with a more productized tech offering.
- Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight): Lighthouse is a hotel commercial intelligence platform offering benchmarking, rate parity, and demand forecasting with adjacent advisory services. It is comparable to Dragonfly's COSi competitive assessment and revenue strategy work, anchored in data and analytics.
Direct peers
- The Prism Group: The Prism Group is a boutique hospitality consulting firm offering commercial strategy, revenue management, and technology advisory for hotels. It directly competes with Dragonfly in the independent and boutique hotel advisory segment.
- Hospitality Softnet: Hospitality Softnet provides hospitality technology advisory, vendor selection, and implementation services to hotels. It is highly comparable to Dragonfly's Technology Advisory and certified-installer positioning across PMS, CRS, and RMS platforms.
- HotelAVE: HotelAVE is a hospitality advisory firm offering revenue management, distribution, and technology consulting to hotels and resorts. It directly overlaps Dragonfly's commercial strategy, revenue management, and technology advisory offerings for similar independent and branded hotel clients.
- HVS Global Hospitality Services: HVS is a global hospitality consulting and valuation firm serving hotels, resorts, and mixed-use developments. Its hotel consulting practice competes directly with Dragonfly on operational and commercial advisory for owners, management companies, and investors.
- Coaction Collective: Coaction Collective is a hospitality sales, marketing, and revenue advisory firm serving independent and boutique hotels. It directly competes with Dragonfly on fractional sales leadership, marketing strategy, and commercial advisory for similar client profiles.
- Revenue Management Solutions (RMS): RMS is a revenue management consulting and outsourced services firm for hotels. It competes head-to-head with Dragonfly's fractional revenue management, audits, and pricing strategy services for similar hotel ownership groups.
Broad incumbents
- Cendyn: Cendyn is a larger hospitality CRM, sales, and marketing platform that also offers advisory and agency services for hotels. It overlaps with Dragonfly's sales and marketing advisory and guest data platform work, but as part of a broader software + services portfolio.
- Deloitte (Hospitality practice): Deloitte operates a global hospitality consulting practice covering strategy, technology, and operations for major hotel chains. While much larger and broader in scope, it competes for enterprise-level hospitality commercial strategy engagements that Dragonfly also targets.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Dragonfly Strategists social profiles
Digital presenceDragonfly Strategists financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Dragonfly Strategists leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
Dragonfly Strategists funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Dragonfly Strategists M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Dragonfly Strategists
What does Dragonfly Strategists do?
Dragonfly Strategists is a boutique hospitality advisory firm that delivers integrated commercial, operations, and IT advisory services to independent, boutique, luxury, and lifestyle hotels as well as small-to-medium hotel companies. Core services span revenue management, distribution, technology advisory and certified implementation, sales and marketing, contact center operations, and project/change management across the full hotel lifecycle from pre-opening through stabilization. The firm also offers interim executive leadership (revenue, sales, contact center) and proprietary analytical tools including the COSi competitive assessment and system health audit tools.
Is Dragonfly Strategists a public or private company?
Dragonfly Strategists is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Dragonfly Strategists founded?
Dragonfly Strategists was founded in 2016. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Dragonfly Strategists based?
Dragonfly Strategists is headquartered in Phoenix, United States, in the North America region.
How does Dragonfly Strategists make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Advisory Retainers are the primary driver. The others are project-Based Consulting, training and Education and interim Leadership Services.
Who are Dragonfly Strategists's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Avvio and Lighthouse (formerly OTA Insight). Direct peers are The Prism Group, Hospitality Softnet, HotelAVE, HVS Global Hospitality Services, Coaction Collective and Revenue Management Solutions (RMS). Broad incumbents are Cendyn and Deloitte (Hospitality practice).
Does Dragonfly Strategists have an API?
No public API is recorded for Dragonfly Strategists.
What industry is Dragonfly Strategists in?
Dragonfly Strategists's product category is Hospitality Advisory & Consulting Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHADAA, Corporate Strategy Advisory, with a secondary code of BPAEAOAD, Vendor & Contract Management (Software/Cloud). Its NAICS code is 54161 and its SIC code is 8742.