SmokyMountains.com
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersGatlinburg, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What SmokyMountains.com does
SmokyMountains.com, operated by StaySense LLC, is a privately held Tennessee-based online travel marketplace focused exclusively on the Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, and broader Great Smoky Mountains region. The platform aggregates 2,000+ vacation rental listings — including 1,000+ in Gatlinburg and approximately 1,047 in Pigeon Forge — from dozens of licensed property management companies, enabling travelers to search, filter by amenity (mountain views, hot tubs, pet-friendly, pools, theater rooms), and book cabin and condo rentals ranging from ~$79/night budget options to $900+/night luxury lodges. The site also offers hotel search powered by Expedia Partner Solutions and serves four primary traveler personas: families and groups, couples, budget travelers, and pet owners. The company is led by co-founder and CEO David Angotti, supported by a small team of local content experts, and claims 20M+ annual visitors across its destination guides, hiking trail reviews, and travel blog.
The underlying technology is a web-based search-and-booking marketplace built on Guesty's vacation rental platform, with hotel inventory sourced through a third-party Expedia integration. The company's most significant proprietary asset is its content library — 18,000+ original photographs and 850,000+ words of destination content produced by a Tennessee-based local expert team — which underpins SEO-driven organic acquisition. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via self-serve online booking, with no mobile app, no public API, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities.
SmokyMountains.com monetizes through three streams: (1) a non-refundable variable-percentage service fee charged on each vacation rental booking; (2) subscription advertising sold to local Smoky Mountains businesses via a dedicated ads team; and (3) affiliate/referral economics on hotel bookings routed through Expedia. The company is family-owned, incorporated as a Tennessee LLC, has 1-10 employees, and has not disclosed any outside funding rounds, institutional investors, or M&A activity. Operating geographies extend into Asheville and Boone, North Carolina, beyond the core Tennessee markets.
SmokyMountains.com firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SmokyMountains.com
- Legal name
- StaySense LLC dba SmokyMountains.com
- Website
- https://smokymountains.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SmokyMountains.com industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Vacation Rental Marketplace
- NAICS
- Recreational Goods Rental (532284)
- SIC
- Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Professional/Managed Inventory Vacation Rental Marketplaces (THAMALAB)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cabins & Cottages (THAMAAAD), Mountain & Ski Homes (THAMAAAG), Family & Group-Friendly Rentals (Large Homes, Multi-Unit Compounds) (THAGANAI)
Keywords
Where SmokyMountains.com is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Gatlinburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
SmokyMountains.com business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Service Fees on Bookings: SmokyMountains.com charges a non-refundable service fee for booking vacation rentals through the platform. The fee is calculated as a variable percentage of the total reservation amount and covers the use of the platform including user support and reservation procurement. The service fee is non-refundable once checkout is completed.
- Advertising Revenue: Local businesses can advertise on the platform through subscription advertisements. David Angotti, Co-Founder, states the company focuses on treating each business as if they are the only reason the company exists. Advertising is negotiated between local businesses and the website.
- Hotel Booking Integration: Hotel search functionality powered by third-party Expedia integration. Hotel pricing and availability is provided by the external service provider.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Cabin rentals ranging from budget to luxury properties |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Non-refundable service fee on bookings |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels3 records
SmokyMountains.com product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SmokyMountains.com operates a web-based vacation rental marketplace that aggregates cabin, condo, and hotel listings from dozens of licensed property management companies across Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Dollywood, Asheville, and Boone. Travelers can search, filter by amenities and dates, compare prices, and book directly through the platform, while the company earns a non-refundable variable service fee on each reservation and sells local business advertising. The site also functions as a regional travel content portal with guides, hike reviews, and destination information for the Great Smoky Mountains area.
Product overview
SmokyMountains.com is a vacation rental marketplace and travel portal for the Smoky Mountains region, offering cabin, condo, and hotel accommodations across Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Boone, NC, and areas near Dollywood and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The platform aggregates thousands of properties managed by licensed property managers, allowing travelers to search, compare prices, and book stays. The core platform includes specialized search filters for cabin amenities (Mountain Views, Pet-Friendly, Hot Tubs), destination-specific sub-products for each covered area, a hotel booking integration powered by Expedia Partner Solutions, a comprehensive National Park guide with hiking trails and Cades Cove information, and a travel blog with vacation planning content. The site also offers local expert guides, advertising services for businesses in the region, and Gatlinburg wildfire statistics research.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- SmokyMountains.com Vacation Rental Platform A web-based travel portal and vacation rental marketplace aggregating thousands of cabin, condo, and hotel listings from licensed property management companies across the Smoky Mountains region. Consumers search by destination, dates, guests, and amenities, then book directly online; the platform charges a non-refundable variable service fee per reservation.
- Gatlinburg Cabins & Rentals Over 1,000 vacation rental listings in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, ranging from one-bedroom cabins to luxury lodges sleeping 100+ people. Properties feature private hot tubs, mountain views, theater rooms, private pools, and pool tables.
- Pigeon Forge Cabins & Rentals Thousands of vacation rental listings in Pigeon Forge and surrounding areas featuring panoramic mountain views, billiards tables, private hot tubs, indoor pools, and arcade rooms. Properties range from treehouses to 16-bedroom lodges.
- Sevierville Cabins & Rentals Vacation rental listings in Sevierville, Tennessee, offering diverse lodging options for families and visitors near Dollywood and Tanger Outlets.
- Boone, NC Cabins & Rentals Vacation rental listings in Boone, North Carolina, situated in the Blue Ridge Mountains with access to camping, fishing, and scenic High Country attractions.
- Dollywood Cabin Rentals Cabin rentals near Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, with amenities including hot tubs, private pools, game rooms, and free attraction tickets.
- Hotel Search Hotel search and booking functionality powered by Expedia Partner Solutions, allowing users to compare and book hotels throughout the Smoky Mountains region. Hotel listings, inventory, pricing, and descriptive details are provided through the third-party service.
- Local Business Advertising Subscription advertising program allowing local Smoky Mountains businesses to advertise on the platform, with pricing and placement negotiated between the business and the website.
Quantifiable outcome
- 20 million+ travelers served
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use SmokyMountains.com
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
SmokyMountains.com technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature3 records
SmokyMountains.com partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- GuestycoreGuesty is the parent company or platform provider for SmokyMountains.com. The website is described as 'brought to you by Guesty' indicating a technology partnership for the vacation rental management platform.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
SmokyMountains.com competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Hipcamp: Hipcamp is an outdoor accommodation marketplace focused on camping, glamping, and unique stays. It overlaps with SmokyMountains.com on destination-style outdoor lodging bookings but at national scale versus SmokyMountains.com's regional focus.
Broad incumbents
- Expedia: Expedia is a major online travel agency providing hotel, flight, and vacation booking. It is comparable because SmokyMountains.com integrates Expedia Partner Solutions for its hotel search functionality, and Expedia competes for the same traveler lodging bookings.
- Booking.com: Booking.com is a global hotel and accommodation booking platform that has expanded into vacation rentals. It overlaps with SmokyMountains.com's lodging booking capabilities, though at vastly larger scale and broader scope.
- Away (the millennial travel brand): Hopper's newer travel booking brand offers hotels and vacation rentals with price prediction. Comparable to SmokyMountains.com's lodging booking capabilities, though at broader travel category scope versus regional concentration.
- Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor is a large travel review and booking platform that combines destination content with hotel and vacation rental bookings. It is comparable to SmokyMountains.com's content-plus-booking model but at much broader geographic and category scale.
Direct peers
- Vrbo: Vrbo is a major vacation rental marketplace focused on whole-home rentals, including cabins. It is a direct competitor in the family/group-friendly cabin category that SmokyMountains.com targets in the Smoky Mountains region.
- Vacasa: Vacasa is a large vacation rental management and marketplace company that professionally manages properties and lists them on its own platform. It is comparable because it aggregates professionally managed vacation rentals, similar to SmokyMountains.com's value proposition.
- Evolve: Evolve is a vacation rental management and marketplace platform focused on professionally managed properties. It is comparable to SmokyMountains.com because both aggregate professional inventory and offer a curated booking experience versus fully open marketplaces like Airbnb.
- Airbnb: Airbnb is the dominant global vacation rental marketplace. It competes directly with SmokyMountains.com for cabin bookings in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge market but operates at global scale versus SmokyMountains.com's regional niche focus.
Others
- Guesty: Guesty is a vacation rental property management software platform and is listed as the platform powering SmokyMountains.com. It is a technology partner/enabler rather than a competitor, though Guesty-backed inventory may eventually compete for the same traveler.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SmokyMountains.com social profiles
Digital presenceSmokyMountains.com financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SmokyMountains.com leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
SmokyMountains.com funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SmokyMountains.com M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SmokyMountains.com
What does SmokyMountains.com do?
SmokyMountains.com operates a web-based vacation rental marketplace that aggregates cabin, condo, and hotel listings from dozens of licensed property management companies across Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Dollywood, Asheville, and Boone. Travelers can search, filter by amenities and dates, compare prices, and book directly through the platform, while the company earns a non-refundable variable service fee on each reservation and sells local business advertising. The site also functions as a regional travel content portal with guides, hike reviews, and destination information for the Great Smoky Mountains area.
Is SmokyMountains.com a public or private company?
SmokyMountains.com is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was SmokyMountains.com founded?
SmokyMountains.com was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is SmokyMountains.com based?
SmokyMountains.com is headquartered in Gatlinburg, United States, in the North America region.
How does SmokyMountains.com make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Service Fees on Bookings are the primary driver. The others are advertising Revenue and hotel Booking Integration.
Who are SmokyMountains.com's main competitors?
Hipcamp is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Expedia, Booking.com, Away (the millennial travel brand) and Tripadvisor. Direct peers are Vrbo, Vacasa, Evolve and Airbnb. Guesty is listed as an others.
Does SmokyMountains.com have an API?
No public API is recorded for SmokyMountains.com.
What industry is SmokyMountains.com in?
SmokyMountains.com's product category is Vacation Rental Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAMALAB, Professional/Managed Inventory Vacation Rental Marketplaces, with a secondary code of THAMAAAD, Cabins & Cottages. Its NAICS code is 532284 and its SIC code is 6531.