Turnstile Tours & Studio
Turnstile Tours & Studio is a Brooklyn-based, Certified B Corporation tour operator founded in 2012 that runs guided walking, bicycle, and boat tours of NYC industrial, food, and public spaces for visitors, schools, corporate groups, and cultural institutions, donating 5%+ of tickets to nonprofit partners.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersBrooklyn, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Turnstile Tours & Studio does
Turnstile Tours & Studio is a Brooklyn-based social enterprise tour operator founded in 2012 by Cindy VandenBosch that offers guided walking, bicycle, and boat tours of New York City with a thematic focus on infrastructure, industry, food systems, and public space. The company's core products include Brooklyn Navy Yard Tours, Brooklyn Army Terminal Tours, Harbor Tours (operated via partnership with Classic Harbor Line), Food Cart Tours across Midtown, the Financial District, and Jackson Heights, an Essex Market tasting tour, Prospect Park Tours, and customized Private Tours for corporate, educational, and family groups. Tickets are priced from $12.50 to $75 per person depending on tour type, with a 6% online convenience fee, discounts for seniors, students, veterans, and children, and a 12-guest minimum for private bookings plus an 8.5% gratuity.
The company operates as a Certified B Corporation and donates at least 5% of every ticket to nonprofit partners including the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, Street Vendor Project, Prospect Park Alliance, NYCEDC, and the Essex Market Vendors Association, a model that grants access to normally restricted industrial and waterfront sites and underpins its interpretive content. In 2020 the company launched a virtual program series during the COVID-19 pandemic, producing over 250 unique programs and creating a separate B2B production arm called Turnstile Studio that delivers technical production, on-camera hosting, and accessibility accommodation services to cultural institutions such as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Thai Select USA, and the Friends of Olmsted-Beil House. The technology stack is entirely third-party SaaS (FareHarbor, Stripe, Mailchimp, Google Analytics) with no proprietary platform, and the company's competitive moat rests on its partnership-driven access, content library, brand recognition, and a cross-disciplinary team of historians, actors, special education professionals, and artists.
Go-to-market is primarily direct-to-consumer through the company website and phone reservations, supplemented by listings on Viator, TripAdvisor, Expedia, and Virgin Experiences, plus non-expiring gift certificates. Marketing relies on content marketing, an extensive articles and press archive (NYT, PBS, Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, Atlas Obscura), and social media presence. All operations are concentrated within New York City; the company is privately held with no external institutional investment identified in available sources.
Turnstile Tours & Studio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Turnstile Tours & Studio
- Legal name
- Turnstile Tours, Inc.
- Website
- https://turnstiletours.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Turnstile Tours & Studio is a Brooklyn-based, Certified B Corporation tour operator founded in 2012 that runs guided walking, bicycle, and boat tours of NYC industrial, food, and public spaces for visitors, schools, corporate groups, and cultural institutions, donating 5%+ of tickets to nonprofit partners.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Turnstile Tours & Studio industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural and Heritage Tour Services
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (56152), Tour Operators (561520), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (48721)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led) (THAJAAAC)
Keywords
Where Turnstile Tours & Studio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Brooklyn
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Turnstile Tours & Studio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Public Tour Tickets: Revenue from selling tickets to scheduled public walking tours, bicycle tours, and harbor cruises. Tours include Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn Army Terminal, Prospect Park, Food Cart Tours (Midtown, Financial District, Jackson Heights), Essex Market, and Harbor Tours. Pricing ranges from $12.50-$75 per person depending on tour type.
- Private Group Tours: Custom private tours for corporate groups, educational institutions, birthday parties, and other private events. These are booked directly through the company and offer customized experiences.
- Turnstile Studio Services: Virtual program production services for B2B clients including Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Friends of Olmsted-Beil House, and Thai Select USA. Includes pre-production, on-camera hosting, moderation, technical direction, and accessibility accommodations.
- Virtual Program Subscriptions: Public virtual programs on topics related to NYC history, architecture, food systems, and waterfront. Over 250 unique programs released with new weekly productions.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Brooklyn Navy Yard Tours - World War II Tour |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Jackson Heights Food Cart Tour |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Food Cart Tours (Midtown/Financial District) |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Essex Market Tour |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Private Tours |
| Other | One-time purchase | Gift Certificates |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Turnstile Tours & Studio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Turnstile Tours & Studio is a Certified B Corporation social enterprise that designs and leads guided walking, bicycle, and boat tours of New York City — including the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn Army Terminal, New York Harbor, Food Cart Tours in Manhattan and Queens, Essex Market, and Prospect Park — for both individual visitors and private groups. Through Turnstile Studio, the company also provides B2B virtual program production, interpretive content planning, and capacity-building services to cultural institutions and nonprofits, producing over 250 unique virtual programs. At least 5% of every ticket purchased is donated to nonprofit partners.
Product overview
Turnstile Tours & Studio is a social enterprise tour operator offering guided walking, bicycle, and boat tours of New York City, with a particular focus on Brooklyn waterfront sites and food culture. The company operates multiple tour programs including Brooklyn Navy Yard Tours, Brooklyn Army Terminal Tours, Harbor Tours, Food Cart Tours (in Midtown, Financial District, and Jackson Heights), Essex Market Tours, and Prospect Park Tours. The company also offers Private Tours for custom group experiences and Virtual Programs—a digital product spanning over 250 unique online programs including virtual tours, cooking demos, and educational broadcasts. Gift Certificates are available as a separate gift product. All tours are created in partnership with nonprofit and community organizations, and the company holds Certified B Corporation status.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Brooklyn Navy Yard Tours
Quantifiable outcome
- Over $20,000 donated to Street Vendor Project since 2012
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Turnstile Tours & Studio
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Turnstile Tours & Studio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Turnstile Tours & Studio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Brooklyn Navy Yard Development CorporationcoreNonprofit organization that owns and operates the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Turnstile Tours offers guided tours of the 300-acre industrial park, exploring history, industry, and sustainability. Tours support the Yard's mission and visitor programming. The partnership includes access to sites like Building 77, Dry Dock 1, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92.
- Street Vendor ProjectcoreMembership-based project of the Urban Justice Center with thousands of vendor members. Turnstile Tours donates 5% of all food cart tour revenue to the organization and has contributed over $20,000 since 2012. The partnership supports vendors' advocacy, legal representation, and business development.
- Prospect Park AlliancecoreNonprofit founded in 1987 to restore and maintain Prospect Park. Turnstile offers walking tours of the 585-acre park, highlighting its history, design, ecology, and maintenance. Tours help raise awareness and support for the Alliance's work.
- NYC Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)coreCity agency that owns and operates the Brooklyn Army Terminal and other industrial properties. Turnstile offers tours of Brooklyn Army Terminal, exploring its history as a WWI military supply base and current industrial uses. NYCEDC operates the Sunset Park waterfront including Bush Terminal.
- Classic Harbor LinecoreHarbor cruise operator providing boat and vessel services. Turnstile provides historical and cultural content expertise and guides for harbor tours including Brooklyn Waterfront: Past & Present, WWII Harbor History Tours, and Around Manhattan Architecture Cruises. Classic Harbor Line sells tickets and operates the vessels.
- Brooklyn Navy Yard Center at BLDG 92coreVisitor and exhibition center for the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Turnstile tours often begin at BLDG 92, which offers three floors of free exhibitions on the Yard's past, present, and future. Partnership includes collaborative tour programming.
- Brooklyn Greenway InitiativeminorNonprofit operating public green spaces at the Brooklyn Navy Yard including the Naval Cemetery Landscape. Partnership for sustainability and urban ecology tour content.
- Brooklyn Botanic GardenminorTurnstile Studio provided technical production assistance for Brooklyn Botanic Garden's annual 'Making Brooklyn Bloom' virtual event in 2021 and 2022, including creating production plans, training staff, directing broadcasts, and coordinating accessibility accommodations.
- Thai Select USAminorMarketing initiative promoting Thai cuisine and restaurants. Turnstile Studio produced two series of virtual food festivals - 'Thai Food in America' (Fall 2020) and 'Passport to the Northeast' (Summer 2021) - featuring certified Thai Select restaurants across the US with live cooking demos and cultural content.
- Friends of Olmsted-Beil HouseminorNonprofit preserving the former home of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in Staten Island. Turnstile Studio provided virtual program production services including on-site virtual tours, panel discussions, and technical direction.
- Essex Market Vendors AssociationcoreAssociation representing vendors at Essex Market (public market since 1940). Turnstile offers weekly tasting tours of the market in partnership with the Vendors Association, featuring 5-7 tastings and opportunities to meet vendors.
- NYC & CompanyminorNew York City's official tourism marketing organization. Turnstile Tours is featured as a recommended NYC tour experience on their platform.
- Brooklyn Chamber of CommerceminorMember of the Brooklyn business community providing networking and promotional opportunities for local businesses.
Scale indicators11 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Turnstile Tours & Studio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Peek: Online marketplace and software platform that helps tour operators (including local walking tours and food tours) build, price, and distribute experiences. Comparable because Turnstile sells through comparable booking platforms and competes with marketplace-listed tour operators.
- GetYourGuide: Global online marketplace for tours, activities, and attractions, listing many NYC walking and food tours. Competes for tourist bookings and shapes distribution economics for boutique operators like Turnstile that already appear on reseller platforms.
Direct peers
- Free Tours by Foot: Pay-what-you-wish NYC walking-tour operator offering cultural and historical tours across Manhattan and Brooklyn. Competes for budget-conscious tourists and establishes a low price-anchor in the same market.
- Context Travel: Boutique small-group tour operator specializing in expert-led, scholar-guided cultural and historical walking tours in major global cities. Closely comparable to Turnstile's expert-led, in-depth interpretive model across themes like architecture and history.
- Walks: Italy-based boutique tour operator offering small-group, expert-led cultural and food tours in major cities with private-guide services. Comparable to Turnstile in business model, target customer, and premium guided-tour positioning.
- Big Onion Walking Tours: NYC-based guided walking-tour operator led by graduate students and historians offering themed historical and cultural tours of New York neighborhoods. Direct competitor for cultural walking-tour demand in the same geography as Turnstile.
- Classic Harbor Line: NYC harbor cruise operator offering themed architecture, history, and event cruises — including the joint offerings with Turnstile. A partner in some tours but also competes in the harbor-experience category with similar narrative-driven cruises.
- Foods of New York Tours: Long-established NYC food and neighborhood walking-tour operator serving individual tourists and corporate groups. Direct competitor in food-tour category alongside Turnstile's Food Cart and Essex Market tours.
- Urban Oyster: Brooklyn-based tour operator offering food, drink, and history walking tours of Brooklyn and NYC neighborhoods. Competes directly with Turnstile's food cart and Brooklyn tours for the same tourist and local experiential segments.
- Atlas Obscura Experiences: Media and experiences brand that curates and sells unusual, story-driven tours, food experiences, and events worldwide. Comparable in editorial-led, niche storytelling approach to Turnstile's content-driven tourism model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Turnstile Tours & Studio social profiles
Digital presenceTurnstile Tours & Studio compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Turnstile Tours & Studio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Turnstile Tours & Studio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Turnstile Tours & Studio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Turnstile Tours & Studio 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 Turnstile Tours & Studio
What does Turnstile Tours & Studio do?
Turnstile Tours & Studio is a Certified B Corporation social enterprise that designs and leads guided walking, bicycle, and boat tours of New York City — including the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn Army Terminal, New York Harbor, Food Cart Tours in Manhattan and Queens, Essex Market, and Prospect Park — for both individual visitors and private groups. Through Turnstile Studio, the company also provides B2B virtual program production, interpretive content planning, and capacity-building services to cultural institutions and nonprofits, producing over 250 unique virtual programs. At least 5% of every ticket purchased is donated to nonprofit partners.
Is Turnstile Tours & Studio a public or private company?
Turnstile Tours & Studio is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Turnstile Tours & Studio founded?
Turnstile Tours & Studio was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Turnstile Tours & Studio based?
Turnstile Tours & Studio is headquartered in Brooklyn, United States, in the North America region.
How does Turnstile Tours & Studio make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Public Tour Tickets are the primary driver. The others are private Group Tours, turnstile Studio Services and virtual Program Subscriptions.
Who are Turnstile Tours & Studio's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Peek and GetYourGuide. Direct peers are Free Tours by Foot, Context Travel, Walks, Big Onion Walking Tours, Classic Harbor Line, Foods of New York Tours, Urban Oyster and Atlas Obscura Experiences.
Does Turnstile Tours & Studio have an API?
No public API is recorded for Turnstile Tours & Studio.
What industry is Turnstile Tours & Studio in?
Turnstile Tours & Studio's product category is Cultural and Heritage Tour Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAJAAAC, Museum & Landmark Guided Tours (Skip-the-line/Docent-led). Its NAICS code is 56152 and its SIC code is 7990.