Vacation Rental Management
Vacation Rental Management in Pigeon Forge, TN
Cabins along the Parkway and up the ridges above Pigeon Forge ask more of an owner than a second home usually does, and Fairly answers that with hands-on local caretaking, listings on Airbnb, Vrbo and Fairly.com, and the state sales tax and city lodging tax registered and remitted for you.
4.8
Average review in Pigeon Forge, TN
Fairly is an Airbnb Superhost, and our homes average 4.84 stars across 19,000+ guest reviews. 87% of those reviews are five stars. Better reviews attract better guests, at higher prices, maximizing your revenue.
Pigeon Forge market overview
Pigeon Forge sits on the Parkway between Sevierville and the Gatlinburg entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and it is a destination rather than a place travelers drive through: Dollywood, the theatres and the dinner shows fill the valley floor while rental cabins climb the ridges on either side. The booking year has two peaks of the same height. July runs at 75 percent occupancy on family summer travel, and October matches it exactly when leaf season brings a different crowd up the same roads. June is just behind. November and December both hold above 60 percent on Winterfest and the holiday shows, and December carries one of the year's highest nightly rates, which is unusual for a mountain market. Spring settles in the mid-fifties. The trough is short and deep: January and February fall to roughly a third occupied, which is when owners tend to take their own weeks. The Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism publishes the event calendar that moves those shoulder weeks.
What homes earn in Pigeon Forge, TN
The chart above covers premium vacation rentals carrying a Pigeon Forge address, most of which sit inside the city limits rather than out in the county. 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 | $2,078 | 33% | $261 |
| Feb | $1,988 | 35% | $245 |
| Mar | $4,124 | 57% | $268 |
| Apr | $4,043 | 57% | $270 |
| May | $3,958 | 55% | $270 |
| Jun | $5,773 | 72% | $323 |
| Jul | $6,368 | 76% | $333 |
| Aug | $4,079 | 58% | $278 |
| Sep | $3,895 | 53% | $264 |
| Oct | $6,328 | 75% | $310 |
| Nov | $5,044 | 63% | $304 |
| Dec | $5,133 | 62% | $324 |
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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.
Vacation Rental Taxes and Regulations in Pigeon Forge, TN
Lodging and occupancy taxes
Short-term renting is permitted in Pigeon Forge, and most homes with a Pigeon Forge address sit inside the city limits, so the city's rules govern rather than the county's. Two taxes apply. The Tennessee Department of Revenue levies sales tax on any stay shorter than 90 continuous days — a 7 percent state rate plus the local rate — on the full sales price, required cleaning and pet fees included. The city adds a 2.5 percent lodging tax on gross lodging sales, bringing the combined charge to the guest to 12.25 percent; city privilege taxes are filed monthly and are due by the twentieth. A cabin outside the city limits pays the Sevier County Trustee a 3 percent county lodging tax instead.
Registering your rental
Begin with the two business licenses, one from the city Finance Department and one from the Sevier County Clerk. Zoning decides the rest. In R-2 and higher, tourist residences and overnight rentals are a permitted use, with the planning commission approving a site plan and off-street parking. R-1 is closed to new short-term rentals: only residences already used as short-term rentals when the city adopted its short-term rental ordinance stay eligible, and they need a Short-term Rental Unit Operating Permit from the Community Development Director, good for a year and renewed annually. It is non-transferable, so selling the house voids it.
Local rules that affect operating
That permit rests on an affidavit of life-safety compliance, verified before it issues: UL 217 smoke alarms in every sleeping room, within fifteen feet of sleeping rooms and on every story including basements; a carbon monoxide detector within fifteen feet of each bedroom; and a working fire extinguisher. It also requires a contact reachable around the clock who can be at the property within forty-five minutes, a floor plan showing off-street parking, and the permit number on every advertisement. Occupancy is capped at two guests per bedroom plus two, never above twelve. Separately, the Building Department requires overnight-rental plans sealed by a Tennessee-registered architect or engineer, and a house above five sleeping rooms, twelve sleeping occupants, 5,000 square feet or three stories must meet hotel occupancy standards for sprinklers, exits and guardrails.
How Fairly handles it
Tennessee makes the property management company the party that must register for and collect sales tax when an owner uses one, 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 file the city lodging tax monthly and assist with the operating permit and its annual renewal.
Operating a vacation rental in Pigeon Forge, TN
Pigeon Forge cabins work hard. The valley fills and empties on a weekly rhythm through July and again through October, so turnovers stack back to back across the two busiest months of the year, and the ridge roads above the Parkway ice over in January and February. Humidity keeps decks, hot tubs and exteriors on a continuous maintenance cycle. A home operating on a city short-term rental operating permit also has to keep a designated person reachable twenty-four hours a day who can be physically at the property within forty-five minutes of a complaint. Your Fairly caretaker is that single point of contact: they live nearby, do every turnover and walkthrough themselves, and are close enough to answer that clock. You keep final say over how the cabin is run, and you can change caretakers whenever you want.
Frequently asked questions
What does Fairly charge to manage a Pigeon Forge cabin?
A flat 20 percent of rental revenue, with no long-term contract. We take no part of the cleaning fee: the entire cleaning fee goes to your local caretaker, who also earns a share of Fairly's management commission, so the person looking after your cabin is paid well for doing it properly.
Can I start renting my Pigeon Forge house short-term?
It depends on the zoning district. In R-2 and higher, overnight rentals and tourist residences are a permitted use, so a new operation is possible. The R-1 low-density district is closed to newcomers: only houses already being used as short-term rentals when the city adopted its short-term rental ordinance can hold an operating permit, and that permit dies with a sale.
Which lodging taxes apply inside the Pigeon Forge city limits?
Tennessee sales tax at the 7 percent state rate plus the local rate, and the city's own 2.5 percent lodging tax, which comes to 12.25 percent in total to the guest. The county's 3 percent lodging tax applies only outside the city limits. Fairly registers your home for the sales tax, collects both, and remits them.
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.
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