What Escape Room Live does

Escape Room Live is a privately-held, single-location physical entertainment operator founded in 2014 in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia (814 King Street, Floor 2). It runs four themed, immersive escape rooms — The Wizard's Apothecary (fantasy, up to 8 players, 6/10 difficulty), Edgar Allan Poe: Poe-Ranormal Activity (paranormal, up to 10 players, 8/10 difficulty), Sherlock Holmes: A Matter of Time (detective, up to 8 players, 7/10 difficulty), and Sherlock Holmes: Bomb's Away (thriller, up to 6 players, 7/10 difficulty) — using high-quality, movie-level set designs built in-house. The company is led by owner/CEO Ginger Flesher Sonnier and operates with a small (1–10 employee) team.

The business generates revenue primarily through per-person game fees at $37.99 per player for a 1-hour experience, with children age 4 and under admitted free with a paying adult. Distribution is direct-to-consumer across multiple channels: online self-serve booking via the company website, phone reservations, walk-in traffic, and a dedicated full-time corporate and group-events team handling team-building bookings, birthday parties, and bachelor/bachelorette events. Discount programs include a 15% military discount (ID required) and a 10% student discount (Wed/Thu only). Gift cards are sold through an external e-commerce storefront (store.theescapegame.com), each valid for one player in one game.

There is no proprietary software technology platform, no app, no API, and no AI/ML component; the product is entirely a physical, live-experience offering. The company claims a 5.0 star rating from over 7,000 customers and self-positions as the '#1 escape rooms in Alexandria, VA.' Operating geographies are limited to Virginia (USA), and no funding rounds, M&A activity, partnerships, patents, or certifications are disclosed.

Name

Escape Room Live

Website

https://escaperoomlive.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Escape Room Live is a single-location, physical escape room venue in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, operating four themed rooms and serving DC-metro consumers, families, corporate groups, and celebration parties via per-person game fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Escape Room Entertainment

NAICS

Amusement Arcades (71312), Amusement Parks and Arcades (7131)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Escape Room Games & Mystery Puzzle Boxes Retail (CRALALAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Party Games, Activities & Interactive Entertainment (HSACACAJ), Family Entertainment Centers & Indoor Amusement (Arcades, Trampoline Parks, Indoor Play) (THAAAAAD)

Keywords

• Escape room experiences
• Themed adventure games
• Team building events
• Immersive entertainment venue
• Group event planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Alexandria

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Escape Room Game Fees: Primary revenue stream from per-person game fees. Customers pay to participate in one-hour escape room experiences. The standard rate is $37.99 per person. Children age 4 and under participate free of charge with a paying adult.
2. Gift Cards: The company sells gift cards that can be redeemed for escape room experiences. Each gift card is valid for one player in one game. Multiple gift cards cannot be applied to a single reservation.
3. Group Event Booking: Revenue from private group bookings for corporate team building, birthday parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and other special events. A full-time team coordinates these events, suggesting premium pricing or service fees for group bookings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Escape Room Live designs and operates four themed, one-hour physical escape room experiences at a single venue in Old Town Alexandria, VA, charging $37.99 per person. Beyond game admissions, the company sells gift cards and provides dedicated event coordination for corporate team building, birthday parties, and bachelor/bachelorette parties, with a full-time team handling group bookings.

Product overview

Escape Room Live is Alexandria's premier provider of escape room experiences, operating four distinct immersive escape room games. The core product consists of four themed escape rooms: The Wizard's Apothecary (fantasy), Edgar Allan Poe: Poe-Ranormal Activity (paranormal), Sherlock Holmes: A Matter of Time (detective), and Sherlock Holmes: Bomb's Away (thriller). Each room features high-quality, movie-level sets with different difficulty ratings (6/10 to 8/10) and player capacities (6-10 players). The company also offers event services including Corporate Team Building, Birthday Parties, and Bachelor/ette Parties. Additional services include gift cards sold through a third-party store, with pricing at $37.99 per person.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Wizard's Apothecary A fantasy-themed one-hour escape room experience where players are summoned by the King to find the missing Royal Wizard and discover his Spellbook. Accommodates up to 8 players with a 6/10 difficulty rating.
• Edgar Allan Poe: Poe-Ranormal Activity A paranormal investigation escape room experience in which players enter Poe's old chambers to search for a fabled 'Lost Manuscript.' Accommodates up to 10 players with an 8/10 difficulty rating.
• Sherlock Holmes: A Matter of Time A detective-themed escape room experience where players are summoned to Sherlock's study to prove their skills as junior detectives. Accommodates up to 8 players with a 7/10 difficulty rating.
• Sherlock Holmes: Bomb's Away A thriller escape room experience in which players must stop Professor Moriarty from triggering bombs in major city centers. Accommodates up to 6 players with a 7/10 difficulty rating.
• Corporate Team Building Team bonding activities for corporate groups in the DC metro area, with a full-time team coordinating details. Designed to develop creative thinking, maximize participation, and encourage team communication across a one-hour immersive experience.
• Birthday Parties Event planning service for birthday celebrations held at the Alexandria escape room venue, with full-time coordination support for private group bookings.
• Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties Event planning service for bachelor and bachelorette party celebrations held at the escape room venue, with full-time coordination support for large private bookings.
• Gift Cards Gift cards redeemable for one player in one escape room game, sold through a third-party store portal at store.theescapegame.com. Multiple gift cards cannot be applied to a single reservation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5.0 star average rating from over 7,000 customers

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Escapology: Escape room franchise with broad US footprint, themed rooms, and corporate team-building offerings. Closely comparable business model — themed hour-long rooms with per-player pricing and dedicated group/corporate event support.
• Mission Escape Games: Escape room operator offering themed, immersive rooms with group and corporate bookings. Directly comparable on product (themed rooms), pricing (per-player), and customer segments (consumers, corporate, celebrations).
• Breakout Games: Multi-market escape room chain offering themed rooms for groups, families, and corporate team building. Directly comparable product (themed 60-minute rooms), pricing model (per-player), and target customer segments including corporate events.
• Great Room Escape: Independent escape room operator with themed rooms and group/corporate event offerings. Comparable on product, pricing, and target customer segments at a similar local-operator scale.
• 60Out Escape Rooms: Escape room operator with multiple locations running themed, immersive rooms with similar per-player pricing. Competes for the same walk-in, family, and corporate group demand in major metro markets.
• The Escape Game: Multi-location escape room operator with themed rooms and an e-commerce gift card storefront. Gift cards for Escape Room Live are sold through store.theescapegame.com, indicating a direct commercial relationship and near-identical product offering (immersive themed escape rooms for groups).
• Red Door Escape Room: Escape room venue with themed rooms and corporate/private event programming. Closely comparable product offering and target customer mix to Escape Room Live.
• Escape the Room: Multi-location escape room operator offering themed, immersive rooms for groups, families, and corporate clients. Comparable on product format, pricing model, and group-event motion.

Broad incumbents

• Main Event Entertainment: National family entertainment center chain offering bowling, laser tag, arcade games, and group events. Broader incumbent in the same local entertainment/team-building wallet, competing for similar family and corporate group bookings, though not a focused escape-room operator.
• Dave & Buster's: Large national operator of eat-and-play entertainment venues combining arcade gaming, food, and group/private event services. Competes for the same family and corporate group-outing dollars in the DC metro area, but as a much broader entertainment concept.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EscapeRoomLive

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Escape Room Live