GOING PLACES GmbH

What GOING PLACES GmbH does

GOING PLACES GmbH is a privately held, Hamburg-based interdisciplinary agency founded in 2018 that operates across three integrated service pillars: Destinations & Hospitality (hotel and destination concept development, architecture, interior design, and turnkey project delivery), Brand Strategy & Identity (participatory brand development for destinations, hospitality concepts, and products), and Brand Experience (trade show booths, PR events, flagship stores, and experiential marketing). The firm serves enterprise clients across automotive (Opel, Cadillac), photography/imaging (Olympus), food/beverage (Ritter Sport), hospitality (Centro Hotels, VELA Hotels, Huter Invest), tourism destinations (Kur & Tourismus GmbH Zingst, Alter Fischereihafen Cuxhaven), and real estate (Solutions Holding), with a portfolio of 300+ delivered projects cited.

The firm is controlled by a group of partner-shareholders including Holk Engelbrecht and Fabian Tank (both Geschäftsführender Gesellschafter), Prof. Dr. h.c. Stephan Gerhard (via Solutions Holding GmbH), and Kim Pörksen, with cross-affiliations to eventlabs GmbH (event production), Solutions Holding (hospitality investment portfolio), and PIECE OF CAKE (brand consulting). Revenue is generated through project-based professional services engagements won via direct enterprise sales and reputation, supplemented by one owned operating asset, Gut Rantzau / The Great Nature Escape, a sustainable hospitality and learning facility. The firm has 5 employees but operates against a backdrop of 30+ years of combined partner experience and 20+ industry awards, with no external institutional or venture funding evident in the disclosures.

Name

GOING PLACES GmbH

Legal name

GOING PLACES GmbH

Website

https://going-places.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GOING PLACES GmbH is a Hamburg-based, 5-person interdisciplinary agency providing brand strategy, hospitality/destination development, and brand experience design for enterprise clients in automotive, photography, hospitality, and tourism across DACH and select European markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Agency Services

NAICS

Traveler Accommodation (7211), Other Traveler Accommodation (72119)

SIC

Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

A-Frames & Architectural Retreats (THAMADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Unique & Specialty Stays (Tiny Homes, Treehouses, Houseboats, Yurts, Castles) (THAGANAG), Venue Sourcing & Site Selection (HSACADAC)

Keywords

• Brand strategy services
• Hospitality design
• Experiential marketing
• Destination branding
• Trade show design

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamburg

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brand Strategy & Identity Services: Brand development and corporate design services for destinations, hospitality concepts, and products. Full brand development process from strategy through implementation.
2. Destination & Hospitality Development: Conception and realization of business ideas, concepts and designs for real estate and places. Includes business case planning, conception, design, stakeholder management, financing, and turnkey delivery.
3. Brand Experience & Event Design: Creation of emotional and unique communication in space and meaningful experiences that bring together people, brands, and products. Includes trade show stands, product experiences, PR events, flagship stores.
4. Own Project Development: Self-developed projects such as Gut Rantzau (The Great Nature Escape) - a sustainable hospitality, learning & experience offering developed and operated by GOING PLACES itself.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GOING PLACES GmbH is an interdisciplinary agency that develops brands, destinations, and experiences for enterprise clients. Its work spans three service pillars: Destinations & Hospitality (concept development, architecture, and interior design for hotels and real estate), Brand Strategy & Identity (brand development and corporate design via participatory processes), and Brand Experience (trade show stands, PR events, and experiential marketing installations). The firm also self-develops and operates proprietary hospitality projects such as Gut Rantzau (The Great Nature Escape).

Product overview

GOING PLACES GmbH is an interdisciplinary agency operating under a unified brand that offers three integrated service pillars: Destinations & Hospitality (project development, hotel design, and architecture for real estate and locations), Brand Strategy & Identity (brand development, corporate design, and consulting), and Brand Experience (trade show/exhibition design, PR events, and experiential marketing). The portfolio includes both client projects across automotive (Opel, Cadillac), photography (Olympus), hospitality (Centro Hotels, VELA Hotels), and retail (Ritter Sport), as well as proprietary project developments such as The Great Nature Escape (Gut Rantzau), a sustainable hospitality and learning facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Destinations & Hospitality Development and realization of business ideas, concepts, and designs for real estate and places including urban quarters, tourist destinations, hotels, and retail concepts. Includes business case planning, conception, design, stakeholder management, financing, and turnkey delivery for hospitality and destination clients.
• Brand Strategy & Identity Development of charismatic brands for destinations, hospitality concepts, and products through participatory brand development processes including analysis, strategy, and implementation of corporate design and brand identity.
• Brand Experience Creation of emotional and unique communication in space and meaningful experiences that bring together people, brands, and products. Includes trade show stands, product experiences, PR events, and flagship store installations for enterprise clients.
• Gut Rantzau / The Great Nature Escape Proprietary sustainable hospitality, learning, and experience facility combining urban qualities with rural nature, operating autonomously in energy, heat, water, and wastewater while being CO2 neutral. Self-developed and operated by GOING PLACES.

Quantifiable outcome

• 300+ national and international projects successfully developed and implemented
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• eventlabs GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFabian Tank is Managing Partner of both GOING PLACES GmbH and eventlabs GmbH. The two companies collaborate on experiential design and event projects, combining GOING PLACES's brand and hospitality expertise with eventlabs's event production capabilities.
• Solutions Holding GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProf. Dr. h.c. Stephan Gerhard is partner at GOING PLACES through Solutions Holding GmbH. Solutions Holding manages investments and participations in innovative hotel projects including 25hours, MA Living, Grätzl, Arcona, and Fidelity. GOING PLACES collaborates with Solutions Holding on hospitality development projects.
• urbansky ArchitektenmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture partner for VELA Hotel Prerow project, collaborating on the design and architectural concept alongside GOING PLACES's design work.
• Peter Krüger, Energielenker, GTN Neubrandenburg, Theta ConceptsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical and energy consulting partners for VELA Hotel Prerow deep geothermal project, working on feasibility studies for sustainable heating solutions.
• PIECE OF CAKEminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKim Pörksen is also Managing Partner of the brand consulting boutique PIECE OF CAKE, representing a parallel professional affiliation with potential for collaboration on brand strategy projects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Landor & Fitch: Global brand consulting and design firm with a strong hospitality and destination practice (W Hotels, Marriott sub-brands). Operates as a broad incumbent competing for the same destination-brand and hospitality-brand engagements that GOING PLACES wins for clients like Zingst and Centro Hotels.
• Pentagram: Largest independent design consultancy, with partners leading brand strategy, identity and environmental design practices. Comparable to GOING PLACES' brand strategy and identity work, though at materially larger scale and without the hospitality-development layer.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy combining strategy, brand and experience design. Operates as a broader incumbent in the design-strategy category where GOING PLACES competes for interdisciplinary strategy, brand and spatial design engagements.

Direct peers

• FRCH Design Worldwide: Hospitality-focused architecture and interior design firm delivering concept-to-completion services for hotels, restaurants and mixed-use destinations. Directly parallels GOING PLACES' turnkey hospitality development model covering business case, concept, design and delivery.
• Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA): Global hospitality interior design firm providing concept, brand and interior design for hotels, resorts and mixed-use destinations — directly comparable to GOING PLACES' Destinations & Hospitality service line and hotel brand-development projects (e.g., VELA, Centro Hotels, The Secret Sölden).
• Yabu Pushelberg: Boutique interior design and brand studio known for hospitality and lifestyle projects (Four Seasons, Edition, Park Hyatt). Comparable to GOING PLACES' integrated brand-plus-interior approach for boutique hotels and lifestyle brands like Ninety Nine Hotels and The Secret Sölden.
• Jack Morton Worldwide: Global experiential brand experience agency producing brand experiences, trade show installations and PR events for enterprise clients (automotive, consumer brands). Highly comparable to GOING PLACES' Brand Experience portfolio (Opel IAA, Cadillac Experience, Olympus Photography Playground).
• WATG: Architecture and design firm specializing in hospitality, destination and resort planning. Operates in the same niche as GOING PLACES' hotel development and destination concept services, with comparable end-clients (hotel groups, mixed-use developers, tourism boards).

Regional players

• Blocher Partners: German architecture, interior and brand design studio with deep hospitality, retail and workspace experience. Direct regional peer based in Germany, competing with GOING PLACES on hotel concept, interior design and brand-experience commissions across the DACH market.

Emerging players

• MKG: Independent experiential marketing and brand experience agency producing trade shows, PR events and brand activations. Comparable to GOING PLACES' Brand Experience pillar, especially for enterprise consumer/automotive clients (Opel, Cadillac-style engagements).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/going-places-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/we_are_goingplaces
• Pinterestpinterest.de/going_places

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 GOING PLACES GmbH