Vacation Rental Management
Vacation Rental Management in Gatlinburg, TN
From the chalets on Ski Mountain to the cabins along US-321 toward Pittman Center, Fairly runs Gatlinburg vacation rentals end to end: a local caretaker on every turnover, listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, and the state sales tax and lodging tax registered, collected and remitted for you.
4.8
Average review in Gatlinburg, TN
Fairly is an Airbnb Superhost, and our homes average 4.84 stars across 20,000+ guest reviews. Fewer than 4% of stays rate below four stars. Better reviews attract better guests, at higher prices, maximizing your revenue.
Gatlinburg market overview
Gatlinburg sits at the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the Parkway runs out of town and straight into the park, and rental cabins climb the ridges on every side of the strip. Heading north out of town, the Parkway runs on through Pigeon Forge to Sevierville. The year has two peaks. October is the busiest month, at 77 percent occupancy and the highest monthly earnings of the year, as leaf season fills every road into the mountains. Summer is the other: June and July both run at 70 percent or better on family travel, and July carries the year's highest nightly rate. November and December hold in the low sixties on holiday trips, with December rates close to summer's. Spring starts early, as March jumps to 60 percent on school breaks and stays near that level through May. The trough is January and February, when cabins are a little over a third occupied, which is when owners tend to take their own weeks.
What homes earn in Gatlinburg, TN
The chart above covers premium vacation rentals across the AirDNA Gatlinburg submarket, which takes in Ski Mountain and Chalet Village and reaches well past the city limits, east along US-321 to Pittman Center. It includes only homes listed on Airbnb and Vrbo that hold an average review score of 4.8 or higher and were available or rented at least 300 days a year. What a specific cabin earns turns on bedroom count, view, hot tub and how far it sits from the Parkway. You can customize a projection for a specific home.
| Month | Total rent | Occupancy | Avg. daily rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | $2,655 | 38% | $318 |
| Feb | $2,216 | 37% | $296 |
| Mar | $4,909 | 60% | $315 |
| Apr | $4,558 | 58% | $317 |
| May | $4,295 | 55% | $325 |
| Jun | $6,500 | 70% | $388 |
| Jul | $7,058 | 74% | $395 |
| Aug | $4,752 | 58% | $342 |
| Sep | $4,466 | 58% | $323 |
| Oct | $7,266 | 77% | $361 |
| Nov | $5,612 | 64% | $358 |
| Dec | $5,923 | 63% | $381 |
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This is based on properties listed on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com with an average review score of 4.8 out of 5 or higher, limited to homes available or rented at least 300 days a year. Earnings vary based on the unique amenities and qualities of each home.
A guaranteed $5,000 increase in earnings
We guarantee that homeowners coming from self management or other managers will make an extra $5,000 in their first year with Fairly.
Vacation Rental Taxes and Regulations in Gatlinburg, TN
Lodging and occupancy taxes
Short-term renting is permitted across most of this market, both inside Gatlinburg's city limits and in the unincorporated Sevier County land around them. Which government taxes a home depends on which side of the line it sits, but the guest pays the same total either way. Inside the city, the City of Gatlinburg Finance Department collects a 3 percent hotel/motel tax on top of the 9.75 percent state and local sales tax administered by the Tennessee Department of Revenue, for 12.75 percent in total. Outside the city, the Sevier County Trustee collects a 3 percent county lodging tax instead, on rent, cleaning fees, pet fees and any other required charge. Both are due monthly by the twentieth. The city also levies a 1.25 percent gross receipts tax on the business itself, which is not added to the guest's bill.
Registering your rental
Inside the city, start with zoning. Tourist residences are a permitted use in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential districts and in the tourist commercial district, but not in R-1A or R-2A. The city does not publish its zoning map online; the official map is kept on file with the Building & Planning Department. Then come a city business license, a Sevier County business license from the County Clerk, and a Tourist Residence Permit from the city, renewed every year. The permit is issued after a building-code inspection and an approved site plan showing off-street parking. A home above three stories, 5,000 square feet or twelve occupants needs an approved sprinkler system.
Outside the city, the permit comes from the Sevier County Fire Marshal's Office: an annual short-term rental unit permit with a life-safety inspection that repeats every year. Homes inside the Town of Pittman Center follow that town's own rules.
Local rules that affect operating
Many cabin communities on Ski Mountain and along US-321 carry HOA or POA covenants that can restrict renting independently of any government rule, so read them before you buy.
How Fairly handles it
When an owner uses a property management company, Tennessee makes the company the party that registers for and collects sales tax, so Fairly registers your home for it, collects it and remits it, and the state business tax on rental receipts falls to us rather than to you. We collect and remit the city or county lodging tax on every booking, and assist with the Tourist Residence Permit or county permit and its annual renewal.
Operating a vacation rental in Gatlinburg, TN
Gatlinburg cabins sit on steep, winding roads, and Ski Mountain and the ridges above the Parkway ice over in January and February. Turnovers stack back to back through October and again through July. The humidity keeps decks, hot tubs and exteriors on a continuous maintenance cycle, and wooded lots need gutters and roofs kept clear of leaves every fall. Inside the city, the Tourist Residence Permit comes with conditions an owner has to keep meeting at every annual renewal: on-site parking sized to the home's sleeping capacity, at least one and a quarter spaces per bedroom in the R-1 district, and any signage kept within the city's sign rules, which bar QR codes on rental signs.
Frequently asked questions
A flat 20 percent of rental revenue, with no long-term contract and no hidden fees. We take no part of the cleaning fee: all of it goes to your local caretaker, who also earns a share of Fairly's management commission, so the person looking after your cabin on Ski Mountain or out along US-321 is paid well for doing it properly.
In most of the market, yes. Inside the city, tourist residences are permitted in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 residential districts and the tourist commercial district with an annual Tourist Residence Permit, but not in the R-1A or R-2A districts. Outside the city limits, unincorporated Sevier County permits short-term rentals under an annual Fire Marshal permit and inspection.
Tennessee sales tax at 9.75 percent, state and local combined, plus a 3 percent lodging tax: the City of Gatlinburg's hotel/motel tax inside the city limits, or the Sevier County Trustee's lodging tax outside them. Either way the guest pays 12.75 percent. Fairly registers your home for the sales tax, collects both taxes, and remits them.
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Fairly Vacation Rental Management
Serving Gatlinburg, TN and neighboring areas
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