Walk & Talk Charleston

What Walk & Talk Charleston does

Walk & Talk Charleston is a women-owned walking tour company headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, founded in 2018/2019 by Tyler P. Wright, who operates under the public-facing persona "the Lid Lady." The company provides themed, on-foot tours covering Charleston history, ghost stories, architecture, and under-told narratives including LGBTQ+ and Black history, delivered by Palmetto Guild certified guides. Tours are sold direct-to-consumer on a per-person basis, with reservations processed through Acuity Scheduling.

The business operates as a privately held LLC with a headcount of 1-10 employees and no disclosed external funding. Distribution is built on three pillars: editorial content (a blog and Substack newsletter), third-party press coverage (Travel + Leisure, Forbes, Southern Living, AFAR, Pride Journeys, Livability), and partnerships with local institutions such as Drayton Hall. A gift card program supplements per-person ticketing, and group bookings serve wedding, bachelorette, and tourist segments.

Revenue mechanics are straightforward: per-ticket tour fees plus gift card sales, with no enterprise contracts, subscription layer, or platform revenue. Capacity is constrained by guide availability in a single market (Charleston), and growth is product-led rather than capital-led, evidenced by successive themed-tour launches and a bundling partnership with a historic site rather than geographic or technology expansion.

Name

Walk & Talk Charleston

Legal name

Walk and Talk Charleston, LLC

Website

https://walkandtalkchs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Walk & Talk Charleston is a women-owned, direct-to-consumer walking tour company in Charleston, SC, offering themed history, ghost, architecture, LGBTQ+, and Black history tours led by certified guides and booked via Acuity Scheduling.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Walking Tour Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Heritage & Historic District Tours (THAJAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Walking City Tours (Highlights & Orientation) (THAJAAAA), Architecture & Urban Design Tours (THAJAAAD)

Keywords

• Guided walking tours
• Historical tours
• Ghost tours
• Architecture tours
• LGBTQ+ history tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

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

Revenue model

1. Walking Tour Tickets: Per-person tickets for scheduled walking tours including History & Historic Gossip, Ghost Tours, Pink Houses Tour, LGBTQ+ History tours, and specialty themed tours. Revenue collected at point of booking.
2. Private Tours: Customized private tour experiences requested via email for groups seeking personalized experiences.
3. Gift Cards: Gift cards and tour packages sold through Acuity scheduling catalog for Charleston experiences.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Walk & Talk Charleston offers guided in-person walking tours of the Charleston, South Carolina peninsula covering approximately two miles per tour. The product line includes themed experiences such as the Classic Charleston History & Historic Gossip tour, Skeletons in the Closet ghost tour, The Pink Houses architectural tour, The Living Museum design tour, The Real Rainbow Row LGBTQ+ history tour, In Their Footsteps Black history tour, French Quarter Gallery Walk, Walk on the Wild Side natural history tour, and Holiday History Tour, plus private customized tours and a combined Drayton Hall experience.

Product overview

Walk & Talk Charleston is a walking tour company offering guided experiences through Charleston's historic district. The core offering consists of multiple themed tour products including the Classic Charleston Walking Tour (Charleston History & Historic Gossip), specialty tours (Skeletons in the Closet ghost tour, Pink Houses architectural tour, Real Rainbow Row LGBTQ+ history tour), cultural tours (French Quarter Gallery Walk, Black History tour), natural history tours (Walk on the Wild Side), seasonal offerings (Holiday History Tour), and private customized experiences. The company also operates The Talk Blog as an educational content extension. Tours are booked through the company's Acuity scheduling system, with some specialty tours requiring email requests.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Charleston History & Historic Gossip Tour Classic two-mile guided walking tour of the Charleston peninsula introducing visitors to the city's architecture, colorful characters, storytelling, and history with an emphasis on 'historic gossip'.
• Skeletons in the Closet Tour

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

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Drayton HallcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeamless private experience from downtown Charleston to Drayton Hall, combining Walk & Talk Charleston's storytelling tours with visits to the iconic historic plantation site. Booked as a combined experience.
• Lowcountry Local FirstminorOthersMember of Lowcountry Local First, a local business organization supporting locally-owned businesses in the Charleston area.
• Palmetto GuildcoreOthersWalk & Talk Charleston guides are certified through the Palmetto Guild, Charleston CVB's certified tour guide program.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Old Charleston Walking Tours: Long-established Charleston walking tour operator offering history and ghost tours in the historic district. Closely comparable in product, geography, and target customer.
• Charleston Footprints Walking Tours: Locally owned Charleston walking tour company specializing in historic district tours. Competes directly with Walk & Talk for scheduled and private tour bookings in the downtown historic area.
• Lowcountry Walking Tours: Charleston-focused walking tour company offering history, ghost, and food tours. Overlaps with Walk & Talk in target market and guided-tour delivery model.
• Bulldog Tours: Charleston-based walking and ghost tour operator offering a broad menu of historic, ghost, and pub tours in the same peninsula market as Walk & Talk Charleston. Direct competitor for tourists booking Charleston walking experiences.

Broad incumbents

• Free Tours by Foot: Pay-what-you-want and tip-based walking tour operator active in many US cities including Charleston. Competes in the same historical walking-tour category with a different pricing model.
• Airbnb Experiences: Online marketplace for host-led local experiences including walking tours. Comparable as an alternative distribution and discovery layer for small, locally-led guided tour operators.
• Viator (Tripadvisor Experiences): Large online marketplace distributing tours and experiences globally, including Charleston walking tours. Comparable as the primary third-party distribution channel many small walking-tour operators use to reach travelers.
• Context Travel: National operator of expert-led, small-group walking tours focused on history, architecture, and culture with docent-scholar guides. Comparable in expert-led storytelling model and premium positioning across many cities.
• Walks (Take Walks): Multi-city tour operator offering small-group guided walking tours with skip-the-line access and expert guides in major destinations. Comparable in walking-tour delivery and small-group expert model.

Regional players

• Drayton Hall: Historic plantation site near Charleston that is an existing partner of Walk & Talk via a bundled tour experience. Comparable as a curated historical experience provider and adjacent visitor attraction in the same destination.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/walkandtalkchs
• Facebookfacebook.com/walkandtalkchs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/walkandtalkchs

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 Walk & Talk Charleston