I was born and raised in Tennesse and Gatlinburg has always been one of my favorite places to visit. When I was in my late twenties, I spent a week or so in Gatlinburg just adventuring around the area. I loved finding all of the of the off the beaten path places. While I was doing that, I told myself, I want to have a cabin here and someday I hope to make Gatlinburg my fulltime home.
This isn't my first time hosting. In the 90's I was in the nightly rental business, I loved it. The was before the age of Wifi, and keyless entry, so with every guest I had the opportunity to meet and speak with them personally upon check in. I was able to meet people from all over the world. In 1996 when the Whitewater Olympics was held on the Ocoee River, I had the wonderful opportunity to host the men's canoe and kayak team of Slovakia for twenty-eight days during the time trials. One of those team members Michal Martikan went on to win the 1996 Gold Medal in the men's singles canoe slalom. It was a great honor for me to have had the opportunity to meet and host those men.
I think I host simply because I love people. I want to see them happy and enjoying life. Traveling makes people happy.