After leaving a corporate sales career and relocating to the Smoky Mountains, this property manager and his family turned their long-held vision into reality with Smoky Mountain Stays. Starting with a lodge and a few cabins, they now offer a beautiful collection of affordable luxury vacation rentals in and around Bryson City, North Carolina.
What is your background?
I actually graduated from Seminary with a B.A in Biblical Studies. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with that, so it led to me getting a job with Verizon Wireless; you know, to pay the bills and get married, ha. I knew I didn’t want to work in corporate America forever, so I began developing a business plan for a retreat lodge and rental cabins. Obviously, it wouldn’t happen immediately or 150 miles away from the location we wanted to start it. So we moved to the Bryson City area to see if we could make it happen.
Were you always in VR or property management, or is this a 2nd/3rd career?
I started with a couple of cabin rentals of my own and our retreat lodge in 2015 - 2017. For years, people would ask if I could manage for them, but since I didn’t have a broker’s license, the answer was no. During the pandemic, I decided to go ahead and get my broker’s license so I could take on additional properties. After deciding how I wanted to structure my property management company, I’ve been taking on new properties for the past two years.
If a later career, what did you do before?
Before becoming a Property Manager full time in 2019, I worked in sales for a technology company for 7 years.
Are you from the geographical area where your properties are located, or did you move there later?
I am not from the Bryson City area. My wife and I took a chance and bought a cabin here in the Smoky Mountains to see if I could make this a career and fulfill a dream. We moved here from just outside of Charlotte, NC, a place called Denver, NC.
Is there something that drew you to that area?
The mountains, small town life, and just the natural beauty. Great Smoky Mountain National Park is our backyard. We love the outdoors, hiking, biking, etc. It’s called God’s country for a reason, and I felt it was the best place to have rental property and share the peacefulness with others.
What do you love the most about the VR business?
I love being able to give people a place to get away from their normal everyday lives. The busy life slows down up here and it allows people to connect with family, friends, nature, God, and themselves.
What do you dislike the most about it?
Well, Airbnb lol. Ok, so Airbnb and “those guests” that we all get from time to time.
How do you use OwnerRez to manage your business?
As an early OwnerRez partner, I use it for everything I can. Besides an integrated cleaning app and doing my own trust accounting, OwnerRez handles everything else.
What is the most useful feature OwnerRez offers?
That’s a tough one, because at this point there are so many features that are intertwined. I think the best way to answer that is by going back to why I first signed up. OwnerRez had the most robust options overall. Many of the other platforms I tried had a nice-looking calendar widget, but the communications piece was missing. Others had API integrations, but the calendar and interface looked like something from the 1980s. OwnerRez was the most complete and seemed to be headed in the right direction for the future. That turned out to be 100% accurate, just look at OwnerRez now compared to back then. Also, Chris and the staff at the time were incredibly helpful and extremely quick to respond and interact with us.
As a locally owned and managed company, Smoky Mountain Stays delivers genuine hospitality and memorable mountain escapes. OwnerRez is proud to highlight this business, and we look forward to seeing them continue to grow.