Tembo Hospitality Group

What Tembo Hospitality Group does

Tembo Hospitality Group is a privately held, full-service marketing and hospitality management firm headquartered in Sylva, North Carolina, with a regional office in St. Augustine, Florida. The company is co-founded by Craig Smith (CEO) and Ben Platt (CFO), with partner-level leadership including Paige White (CMO), Jessica Abell (COO), and Santiago Guzzetti (Executive Chef). It operates under two service lines: Marketing Services (social media management, creative services, website design/hosting, public relations, content creation, advertising, SEO, email marketing, and communications) and Hospitality Management (property management, human resources, accounting, management consulting, payroll, and events management). The firm also does business as 'Tembo Creative Agency' and employs approximately 22 people. Its go-to-market is sales-led with event-driven components, acquiring clients through industry connections, partnerships, and direct outreach with custom solutions rather than publicly disclosed pricing.

The company serves a portfolio of 18+ hospitality clients concentrated in the southeastern United States, including luxury Class A motorcoach resorts (Mountain Falls, Outdoor Resort Indio, Hilton Head Island, Deer Creek), destination venues (Castle Ladyhawke, Bear Lake Reserve), restaurants and food/beverage establishments (ILDA, Meatballs Pizzeria, Santé Wine Bar, Blue Ridge Bootleg), an event space (Sylva Social), tourism government entities (Jackson County Tourism Development Authority), and a growing sports/padel vertical (The PAD Sarasota, The PAD Tucson, RedPADEL + WPR, Nico Agritelley, Alovéa). Geographic reach spans North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, Arizona, and California.

Tembo's underlying technology stack is conventional marketing-agency tooling — social media platforms, content creation, website hosting, and operational management software — with no disclosed AI/ML, proprietary models, API offerings, patents, or technology certifications. Revenue mechanics rely on custom-quoted retainers and project-based engagements, with no disclosed financial metrics. The firm is bootstrapped (no funding rounds disclosed), and recent 2024 activity indicates team expansion into marketing design, web/social, and food and beverage management roles.

Name

Tembo Hospitality Group

Legal name

Tembo Hospitality Group

Website

https://tembohg.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tembo Hospitality Group is a privately held, Sylva, NC-based marketing and hospitality management firm serving 18+ resorts, restaurants, event venues, tourism boards, and padel sports clients across the southeastern US with integrated marketing services and full hospitality operations management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospitality Marketing and Management Services

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Advertising (7310), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Guest Experience & Engagement (CRM, Messaging, Loyalty) (THALACAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sales & Catering / Group & Event Management (THALACAM)

Keywords

• Hospitality marketing services
• Resort marketing solutions
• Restaurant marketing services
• Event venue marketing
• Hospitality management consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Sylva

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Marketing Services: Comprehensive marketing services including social media management, creative services, website development, public relations, content creation, advertising, SEO, email marketing, and communications for hospitality businesses.
2. Hospitality Management Services: Full operations management for hospitality businesses including property management, human resources, accounting, management consulting, payroll, and events management.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tembo Hospitality Group delivers two integrated service lines to hospitality businesses: full-service Marketing Services (social media management, creative services, website design and hosting, public relations, content creation, advertising, SEO, email marketing, and communications) and full-service Hospitality Management (property management, human resources, accounting, management consulting, payroll, and event management). Engagements are customized per client and delivered through ongoing retainer and project-based relationships.

Product overview

Tembo Hospitality Group is a full-service marketing and hospitality management company that provides two core service lines: Marketing Services (social media, creative services, website design/hosting, PR, content creation, advertising, SEO, email marketing, communications) and Hospitality Management (property management, HR, accounting, management consulting, payroll, events). The company operates a diverse portfolio of hospitality client brands including luxury motorcoach resorts (Mountain Falls, Outdoor Resort Indio, Hilton Head Island, Deer Creek), destination venues (Castle Ladyhawke, Bear Lake Reserve), restaurants and food/beverage establishments (ILDA, Meatballs Pizzeria, Santé Wine Bar, Blue Ridge Bootleg), event spaces (Sylva Social), sports and wellness platforms (Alovéa Global, AlovéaPros, RedPADEL + WPR, The PAD Sarasota, The PAD Tucson, Nico Agritelley), and tourism initiatives (Jackson County Tourism).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Marketing Services
• Hospitality Management

Quantifiable outcome

• Jackson County Tourism Development Authority redirected $56,411 in advertising revenue to support Hurricane Helene relief efforts for affected businesses

Named customers18 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Jackson County Tourism Development AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Tembo supports Jackson County Tourism Development Authority with photography and video content for tourism promotion. The JCTDA notably redirected $56,411 in advertising revenue to Hurricane Helene relief efforts in 2024, demonstrating their community-focused partnership approach.
• CheerwineminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2024Cheerwine collaborated with Bear Lake Reserve (a Tembo client) for a content creation session and Summer Contest promotion, combining Southern beverage traditions with the resort's picturesque setting.
• EaterminorOthers · 1 January 2021ILDA restaurant, managed by Tembo partner Santiago Guzzetti, received Eater's 2021 Mountain Restaurant of the Year award, validating the quality of their culinary offerings.
• Outdoor Resort IndiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTembo provides comprehensive digital marketing services for Outdoor Resort Indio, recognized as the #1 Luxury RV Resort in the country, including social media management, website design, hosting, and digital advertising.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tambourine: Digital marketing agency specializing in hotels, resorts, and destinations — directly comparable to Tembo's hospitality marketing services including digital advertising, website, and content.
• Bigeye Agency: Hospitality-focused creative and marketing agency for hotels, resorts, and restaurants; closely comparable to Tembo's resort and restaurant marketing portfolio.
• Two Roads Hospitality: Hospitality management company operating and managing boutique hotels and resorts; directly comparable to Tembo's hospitality operations management service line.
• Hotel & Restaurant Marketing (H&R Marketing): Boutique agency focused on hotels, restaurants, and event venues; comparable to Tembo in serving SMB hospitality clients with similar service offerings.
• Wainscot Media: Hospitality marketing firm producing custom magazines and digital content for hotels, resorts, and lifestyle brands; comparable content + brand storytelling focus.
• Milestone Inc. Hospitality digital marketing agency focused on hotels and resorts; comparable to Tembo in offering SEO, website, paid media, and content services for hospitality clients.
• The Brandon Agency: Mid-sized full-service agency with hospitality, travel, and tourism clients including resorts and destinations; comparable service mix to Tembo's marketing practice.
• Screen Pilot: Digital marketing agency serving hotels, resorts, and destinations; competes with Tembo for similar mid-market hospitality marketing engagements.

Broad incumbents

• MMGY Global: Largest integrated travel, hospitality and leisure marketing firm in the U.S.; competes with Tembo for resort, hotel, and tourism marketing accounts but operates at far greater scale across the full marketing stack.
• Aimbridge Hospitality: Largest third-party hotel and resort management company in North America; relevant to Tembo on the operations management side as a scaled comparable.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/tembohg
• Facebookfacebook.com/tembohg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tembohg
• Instagraminstagram.com/tembohg
• TikToktiktok.com/@tembohg

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Tembo Hospitality Group