365 Sports Travel
Overview
Youth sports travel management and tournament services company operating as “Travel365.” Co-founded by Gary Gartner and Stephanie Walker. Based in the Greensboro/Triad area of North Carolina (Gary Gartner is in Browns Summit, NC; Stephanie Walker is in Charlotte). Positions itself as “The Ultimate One Stop Shop” for tournament management, housing, and travel. Multi-sport but soccer-heavy, with a growing hockey vertical and some lacrosse.
Family-run operation: the Gartner family (Gary as co-founder, Scott as COO, Joselyn as Sr. Event Specialist), the Walker family (Stephanie as co-founder, Lilly as Asst. Tournament Director), and the Stallings family (Melissa as CFO, Eliza as Social Media Coordinator).
Portfolio
Not a club owner. Provides services to tournament operators and sports organizations:
Soccer clients: NC Fusion, ABYSA (Asheville area), Virginia United FC, Wilmington FC, SJEB FC, Wilmington United
Hockey clients: Carolina Junior Hurricanes, Ontario Reign
Other sports: Top Threat Tournaments (lacrosse)
Business Model
Three revenue streams:
- Hotel commissions — Negotiates group block rates with hotels, creates custom booking links via “Event Pipe” portal, enforces stay-to-play policies for tournament partners. Earns commission/markup on room bookings. Claims 30+ years of tournament management and 25+ years handling large group hotel blocks.
- Tournament management fees — Full-service event operations: scheduling, brackets, coaching conflicts, financial reports, facility procurement, referee assignments, vendor coordination, setup/breakdown.
- Ancillary — Transportation logistics, sponsor identification for tournaments, event cancellation insurance (via Vertical Insure partnership).
ARC-verified travel consultant (Airlines Reporting Corporation), which gives legitimacy in the travel agency space. Hotel partner: Choice Hotels.
Strengths
- Full-service bundle — combines housing + tournament operations under one roof, unlike pure housing companies (TTS, Traveling Teams)
- Deep NC soccer network — NC Fusion, ABYSA, UNCG, NC State connections
- Multi-sport diversification — soccer + hockey + lacrosse reduces single-sport dependency
- Lean, family-run — 15 named staff, likely low overhead vs. larger housing companies
Weaknesses
- Regional concentration — client base heavily skewed to North Carolina, limited national footprint
- Family business risk — three families in leadership creates succession and key-person risk
- Small scale — 18k teams and 400k rooms booked is modest vs. Team Travel Source (125+ tournament partners, 1,600+ events/year)
- Basic web presence — WordPress on GoDaddy, suggesting limited technology investment compared to TTS’s custom booking platform
Key People
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Gary Gartner | Co-Founder. Former roles at NC Fusion, Greensboro United Soccer Association, Greensboro Sportsplex, Guilford United FC |
| Stephanie Walker | Co-Founder. 20-year soccer mom and team manager background |
| Scott Gartner | COO |
| Melissa Stallings | CFO |
| Kristen Sasso | Tournament Director / Event Manager |
| Maggie Diaz | Sr. Event Manager |
| Wade Forte | Tournament Schedules & Brackets |
Financials
Not publicly disclosed. Scale indicators: 4,200+ trips assisted, 18,000 teams serviced, 400,000 rooms booked (cumulative, per website). Revenue is likely low single-digit millions given the 15-person team size and regional footprint (LOW — estimate).
Strategic Notes
365 Sports Travel is notable as a combined tournament operations + housing company. Most housing providers (TTS, Traveling Teams, Athlete Travel) handle only the hotel side, while tournament operators run their own events. 365 Sports Travel does both, making it a potential one-stop outsourcing partner for clubs that want to host tournaments without building internal event operations capacity.
For a platform acquirer with tournament properties, 365 Sports Travel is relevant as:
- A potential travel/housing partner for tournament properties that participate in EDP/regional leagues (similar to how 3STEP uses TTS)
- A model for how tournament management can be outsourced rather than built in-house
- A company with deep NC soccer connections that overlaps with the GA/Carolinas pipeline (NC Fusion is a client)
The NC Fusion connection is particularly interesting — George Wright (NC Fusion CFO) is listed as a reference for 365 Sports Travel.
Open Questions
- What is the actual revenue and margin profile?
- How sticky are the tournament management contracts? Multi-year?
- What percentage of revenue comes from housing commissions vs. tournament management fees?
- Is there appetite for growth beyond the NC/Southeast region?
- Could 365 Sports Travel be a tuck-in acquisition for a tournament platform play?