Category: Smoky Mountain Vacation Rental Forum

Four community voices — a homeowners association president, a 49-year attraction GM, an STR educator, and a former management company owner — tackle what's changed, what's at risk, and why stewardship beats extraction in this market. ...

Recorded live at Ober Mountain, three Mountain Laurel Chalets team members with 60+ combined years tackle a deceptively simple question: owners first, or guests first? The answer says a lot about how this business actually works. ...

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. ...

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. ...

AirDNA data shows 48% of listings depend on a single platform. Tom Goodwin breaks down what that means for Smoky Mountain owners, and why direct bookings — not OTAs — are the foundation that holds when the market shifts. ...

Paula Elliott has self-managed her Chalet Village cabin from four hours away for over a decade. She shares how a trusted local housekeeper, proactive communication, and community know-how make remote ownership actually work. ...

Amenities are the stage — hospitality is what happens on it. Tom Goodwin breaks down why genuine care is getting rarer as this market scales, and the simple, low-cost practices that turn a stay into a reason to come back. ...

The COVID boom wasn't the new normal — it was a moment. Tom Goodwin breaks down what's actually changed in the Smoky Mountain vacation rental market, why repeat guest percentage matters more than occupancy, and how to compete as the market matures. ...

Tom Goodwin launches a new forum for Smoky Mountain cabin owners and managers — tracing Mountain Laurel Chalets' 1972 founding and making the case that a rising tide, not scarcity, is what makes this market work for everyone. ...