Posts

Recorded live at Mountain Laurel Chalets' annual owner event, Tom Goodwin maps out five ways a property gets managed today — and the three questions every owner is really asking, whether they know it or not. ...

Casey Georg and his wife have visited the Smoky Mountains more times than they can count. And every single time, it feels like coming home. ...

When people picture a Gatlinburg cabin, they usually picture two options: right in the thick of it in Downtown Gatlinburg, or so far out you're driving twenty minutes for coffee. There's a third option, and it's the one most guests don't know to ask for. Our most private cabins sit on quiet streets, wooded acreage, and tucked-away neighborhoods that are still just minutes from downtown Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and the national park. ...

Some places earn the title of “happy place” over a lifetime of visits. For Jan Hemsworth and her husband, Porch cabin in Gatlinburg was exactly that. ...

Since 2014, Mary Plagge's family has made the trip from the suburbs to the Smoky Mountains a couple of times a year — staying in seven different cabins along the way. From a surprise bear encounter at Highland Fling to the simple pull of mountain views over a crowded beach, here's why eleven years later, they're still coming back. ...

Most people discover Gatlinburg once and fall in love with it. Skip Davis discovered it nearly 50 years ago and never really left. ...

Vernon Corum went from a mop and bucket to a 360-degree hospitality business. He joins Tom Goodwin to talk operational blind spots, the passive-income myth, and why STR should really mean stewardship, trust, and responsibility. ...

Some families have a Disney trip. The Powells have Gatlinburg. Every year, Carissa Powell packs up the family — kids, their little dog Dolly, and a well-worn list of Gatlinburg traditions — and makes the trip to the Smoky Mountains. They know where to get the old-time photo taken. They know the sky bridge will make the kids lose their minds. They know Cades Cove is non-negotiable. And this past spring, they added a new one to the list. ...

We gathered at Smoky Mountain Memory Gardens to say goodbye to Marina "Nina" Torres Casas. She was 69 years old. She spent more than twenty years at Mountain Laurel Chalets, folding towels and sheets in our laundry department and cleaning cabins. She was the mother of Jazmin Hawks, who leads our entire housekeeping operation. She was the mother-in-law of Corey Hawks, our COO. She was, in every way that matters, family. ...

Fifty-four years of legacy doesn't produce quick wins. What it produces are deep wins — the kind that settle into you slowly and remind you exactly why you got into this business. This is one of those stories. ...