Young Strategies

What Young Strategies does

Young Strategies Inc. is a privately held, boutique research and strategic planning firm founded in November 2004 by Berkeley Young and headquartered in the Charlotte, North Carolina area. The firm specializes exclusively in serving destination marketing organizations (DMOs), Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVBs), and chambers of commerce across the United States, providing market research, visitor behavior analysis, lodging market analysis, and strategic planning services. Since 2004 it has worked with over 100 destinations in 27 states, delivering engagements that combine survey research, hotel data analysis, staff time/resource analysis, and community leader input to produce research-driven strategic plans for client destinations.

The company's underlying methodology is a segmented approach to destination research — pairing quantitative visitor and lodging analytics with qualitative community input — delivered via customized engagements rather than packaged products. Core deliverables include multi-year strategic plans (e.g., Tupelo's 10-year plan), recurring research updates on a 3–5 year cycle, and ongoing advisory relationships. Business model is professional services / project-based with quote-based pricing; there is no disclosed pricing schedule and no productized SaaS offering. Go-to-market is sales-led and referral-driven, anchored by Berkeley Young's speaking presence at regional and national tourism conferences, the firm's portfolio website, and direct outreach to government and quasi-government destination entities.

Operationally, Young Strategies runs a very small core team (1–10 employees, with two named individuals: founder/owner Berkeley Young and Research Assistant Madelyn Matlock) supplemented by a network of strategic partners covering destination analytics, destination services, and planning consulting. The firm holds no external funding, has no parent company, and operates as a founder-controlled entity. No software products, mobile apps, APIs, or AI/ML capabilities are disclosed — the offering is services-only. Customer concentration is dispersed across 100+ named and unnamed DMOs, with documented multi-year client tenure (Montgomery AL since 2001/2002, Tupelo MS since 2010) and government/visitor-bureau procurement cycles.

Name

Young Strategies

Legal name

Young Strategies Inc.

Website

https://youngstrategies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Young Strategies Inc. is a privately held, boutique research and strategic planning firm serving US destination marketing organizations, CVBs, and chambers of commerce with visitor behavior analysis, lodging market analysis, and multi-year strategic planning engagements across 100+ destinations in 27 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Market Research & Strategic Planning

NAICS

Marketing Consulting Services (541613), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Strategy & Corporate Development Consulting (BPAHACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Creative Concepting & Campaign Development (BPAFAEAD)

Keywords

• Destination market research
• Strategic planning consulting
• Visitor behavior analysis
• Lodging market analysis
• Tourism industry research

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Strategic Planning and Research Services: Professional services revenue model providing research, strategic planning, and consulting services to destination marketing organizations. Engagements appear to be project-based with recurring follow-up work (clients report updating research every 3-5 years). Revenue derived from professional service fees for research studies, strategic planning engagements, and ongoing advisory relationships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Young Strategies provides market research and strategic planning services specifically for destination marketing organizations (DMOs) such as Convention & Visitor Bureaus (CVBs) and chambers of commerce in the travel industry. Services include visitor behavior analysis, lodging market analysis, custom primary research studies, and research-driven strategic plans tailored to each destination's unique needs. The firm operates as a boutique consultancy delivering bespoke research engagements rather than standardized reports.

Product overview

Young Strategies is a research and strategic planning firm offering a unified suite of services for the travel and tourism industry, specializing in destination marketing organizations (DMOs). The portfolio includes market research services (to reduce risk and identify growth opportunities), strategic planning (research-driven studies for destinations), visitor behavior analysis (understanding and predicting visitor patterns), and lodging market analysis. These services work together as an integrated consulting offering: research provides the data foundation, visitor analysis delivers insights about traveler behavior, lodging analysis supplies accommodation market intelligence, and strategic planning synthesizes all findings into actionable plans for destinations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Market Research for Destination Marketing Organizations Custom primary market research studies designed for destination marketing organizations (DMOs) such as Convention & Visitor Bureaus, chambers of commerce, and tourism authorities. Engagements typically include survey design, data collection, stakeholder interviews, and findings tailored to the specific destination.
• Strategic Planning Services Research-driven multi-year strategic plan development for destination marketing organizations. Combines market research findings with stakeholder input and industry benchmarking to produce a roadmap guiding the DMO's marketing, positioning, and resource allocation decisions.
• Visitor Behavior Analysis Specialized research examining visitor profiles, trip characteristics, spending patterns, and decision drivers for a destination. Used by DMOs to understand who their visitors are, what they do, and how the destination should position itself competitively.
• Lodging Market Analysis Analysis of local lodging supply, demand, occupancy trends, and competitive positioning. Supports DMO clients in understanding hotel performance, identifying gaps in inventory, and aligning tourism marketing with lodging capacity realities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tupelo tourism tax collection increased from $3.4 million (2011) to over $4 million (2015)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Larry Gustke PhD - Destination AnalyticsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner specializing in destination analytics. Listed as part of Young Strategies' network of strategic partners for research and planning engagements.
• Steve Powell - Destination ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner providing destination services. Listed as part of Young Strategies' network of strategic partners for research and planning engagements.
• Alexa Gifford - Planning ConsultantminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlanning consultant integrated into Young Strategies' strategic partner network for research and planning engagements.
• Judy L. RandallminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner associated with Young Strategies. Note: Randall Travel Marketing is where Berkeley Young served as VP before founding Young Strategies in 2004.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Zartico: Destination intelligence platform using mobility and spend data to provide continuous visitor analytics for DMOs — an emerging substitute or complement to traditional periodic DMO research engagements like Young Strategies'.
• Arrivalist: Travel analytics company measuring visitor movement, campaign lift, and economic impact for DMOs and tourism marketers — competing for portions of the destination measurement and visitor behavior analysis budget.

Direct peers

• Madden Media: Destination marketing agency providing research, media planning, branding, and digital marketing services to DMOs and CVBs — comparable on the DMO strategy, research, and marketing-services mix.
• Longwoods International: Tourism market research firm specializing in visitor studies, advertising ROI tracking, and travel intent research for DMOs and tourism boards — a near-direct competitor to Young Strategies' research engagements.
• Miles Partnership: A destination marketing agency serving US DMOs, CVBs, and state tourism offices with research, branding, media, and strategic planning services — directly overlapping Young Strategies' core DMO strategy and research offering.
• Development Counsellors International (DCI): Place and destination marketing firm focused on economic development and tourism marketing strategy, research, and branding for DMOs, CVBs, and economic development organizations — overlapping on the strategic planning and research side.
• Tourism Economics: Oxford Economics subsidiary providing tourism economic impact analyses, forecasting, and research for DMOs, governments, and industry clients — directly comparable on the data-driven destination research and planning work.

Broad incumbents

• STR (CoStar): Global hospitality benchmarking and hotel performance data provider whose lodging market data feeds many DMO lodging analyses. Comparable because lodging market analysis is one of Young Strategies' core offerings.
• MMGY Global: Large integrated travel and tourism marketing firm offering research, advertising, branding, and PR for destinations, hotels, and attractions. Comparable on the DMO research and strategic planning axis but operates at much broader scale and service scope.
• HVS: Global hospitality consulting firm providing hotel valuations, feasibility studies, and lodging market analyses — directly comparable on the lodging market analysis capability Young Strategies leverages from its hotelier background.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/youngstrategies
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/young-strategies-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Young Strategies