Tom Goodwin, owner of Mountain Laurel Chalets, launches a new show built around a simple but pointed question: when was the last time you had an honest, non-sales-pitch conversation with another cabin owner or property manager in the Smokies? The Smoky Mountain Vacation Rental Forum is Tom's answer — a weekly show for cabin owners, vacation rental managers, self-managing owners, and hospitality professionals who care about how vacation rentals are done in the Great Smoky Mountains.
Tom opens by being transparent about his own path into the industry: he married into it. His wife Susan grew up on Wiley Oakley Road in Gatlinburg, the daughter of Dot and Ralph Ogle, who founded a vacation rental management company in 1972. Tom married into the family in 1992, spent years learning the business around the kitchen table, and took over day-to-day leadership in 2012 — right at the dawn of Airbnb and VRBO. Fourteen years later, he and Susan now own Mountain Laurel Chalets outright.
The episode traces the company's origin story back further than the business itself — to Dot and Ralph's engagement atop Mount LeConte in the late 1950s, their move to an unpaved, four-wheel-drive-only Wiley Oakley Road, and the informal hospitality that started it all: taking in overflow guests for the Gatlinburg Inn when Wilma Maples' rooms filled up, and watching over neighbors' second homes while they were away. That grew into an "overflow" rental business, and on July 1, 1972, the keys were handed over on the very first property — a two-bedroom house called Mountain Laurel House — making Mountain Laurel Chalets the third vacation rental management company to start in the county.
From there, Tom pivots to a candid read on today's market: an estimated 25,000-plus vacation rental units in Sevier County, over 130 organized management companies, thousands of self-managing owners, and a national park drawing more than 12 million visitors a year. Rather than framing that growth as a zero-sum competition, Tom lays out the show's central philosophy — an "abundance mentality" over a "scarcity mentality" — arguing that every operator's reputation is tied to the shared destination's reputation, and that raising the whole market's standards benefits everyone, including direct competitors.
The episode closes with the forum's four core values — transparency and trust, hospitality first, generosity and abundance, and professionalism with humility — and an invitation to the show's in-person event: A Night on Ski Mountain, held for the fourth year running on the last Friday of April at Ober Mountain, co-hosted by Mountain Laurel Chalets, Guesty, Ober Mountain, and the podcast itself.
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- A forum, not a broadcast. Tom draws a clear distinction: a podcast broadcasts one voice, while a forum is meant to be built together — a place for owners, managers, self-managers, and even competitors to have honest, sometimes uncomfortable conversations.
- The business began with a dream and a key exchange, not a strategy. Dot and Ralph Ogle got engaged atop Mount LeConte in the late 1950s and moved to an unpaved Wiley Oakley Road; their rental business grew out of informally housing hotel overflow guests and watching over neighbors' vacation homes while they were away.
- Founded July 1, 1972. Mountain Laurel Chalets started with a single two-bedroom property, Mountain Laurel House, making it the third vacation rental management company to launch in Sevier County — 54 years ago as of this recording.
- The market today, by the numbers. Tom cites over 25,000 vacation rental units in Sevier County, 130-plus organized management companies, a national park drawing over 12 million annual visitors, and a market pulling in over $4 billion a year for the county.
- Abundance over scarcity. The episode's central philosophy: a rising tide lifts all boats. A bad guest experience anywhere in the Smokies reflects on every cabin owner in the county, so raising the whole market's standards — not hoarding knowledge or wishing failure on competitors — benefits everyone, including your own business.
- Four core values guide the show. Transparency and trust, hospitality first, generosity and abundance, and professionalism with humility.
- An in-person gathering, four years running. Tom invites listeners to "A Night on Ski Mountain," held the last Friday of April at Ober Mountain — a free, RSVP-required evening of dinner, bluegrass music, and community co-hosted by Mountain Laurel Chalets, Guesty, and Ober Mountain, coinciding with the Chalet Village Homeowners Association's 60th anniversary.
- Three questions for listeners to sit with. Is hospitality a value that shows up with every guest, or is the goal just "heads on beds"? Do you see other operators as competitors to outmaneuver, or colleagues who make the whole destination stronger? And do you bring real professionalism and a genuine heart for hospitality to what you do?
