MAINTENANCE - Can't live without it!

Where would we be without the folks who help us with maintenance at All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower?  I'll tell you - we would be LOST!

One of our primary maintenance guys - Mark Kalinowski - has been away for over a month, helping to take care of his parents in Michigan.  We have really missed him.  But he just called and said, "I'm baaaaaack!"  I almost cried!

You may remember seeing Mark before.  He has done a lot of big jobs for us, such as the new walkway and all the work on the garage at Smoky Mountain Tower.  Here he is working on the window cranks in the sunroom there.















He does work at both cabins - like installing new flooring...















...and new light fixtures at All Decked Out.

And he's not the only one who helps us.  Darren Phillips lives very close to both our cabins and is always ready whenever we call him with an emergency.














Maintenance is one of the things we work on very hard.  In fact, we expect to be in Gatlinburg next week for a whole week of maintenance and updating.  We'll report on our progress as we go along.  But please join us in saying a big "thank you" to these guys ... and all the others who make it possible for you to enjoy Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out.  We couldn't do it without them!

It's MORE than just about renting a cabin...

When we bought All Decked Out (now more than 16 years ago), we didn't just buy it as an investment or a piece of rental property.  We bought it - and we bought Smoky Mountain Tower two years later - to be able to help people.

We have a lot of involvement with missionaries, and we know they work very hard - sometimes in dangerous situations.  Like all of us, they need opportunities for rest and relaxation.  So it has been our privilege over the years to provide those places for missionaries to take a break and experience some renewal.  That's one of the reasons we advertise on Christian Hospitality Network (www.ChristianHospitalityNetwork.com).

But our willingness to help goes beyond just a place for missionaries.  As we promised in our last post, here are some examples of ways we have been able to help our guests:

• About a month ago, Marcia was talking with a potential guest who happened to mention that she was having computer problems and might have a virus.  Marcia ended up giving her instructions on how to get rid of the virus!  P.S. - The lady made her reservation immediately.
• We try to keep a close watch on the weather in and around Gatlinburg.  More than once, we've alerted guests to a potential dangerous situation.
• Traffic can be a headache when you're coming to Gatlinburg.  Many times, we have written to guests in advance of their travel to tell them about detours or other road conditions (even rock slides in the mountains), so we can hopefully give them an alternate route and save them some travel time.
• Sometimes guests have unusual situations that require them to arrive a little early or possibly delay their departure a little bit.  We work with our guests as much as possible to accommodate their travel plans.  It doesn't always work out because of cleaning schedules - but we try.

Here's the point.  Whenever we answer an inquiry, we close with this statement:  "If you have any questions, please get back to us.  We'll help you however we can."  And we mean it.  Our goal is for you to have the best possible vacation experience.

And if you think we're just giving you a "line," check out what our guests say about us.  You can find their comments on our Web sites.  Just click on "Guest Book Comments" or "Post & Read Reviews."  We hope your review will be there soon!

Your Gatlinburg Rentals Team

Have you ever wondered who is behind all the work that's required so you can easily book your Gatlinburg vacation rental at Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out?

Well, let us show you!  You may be surprised to know that there are now four of us involved - and we're all part of one family.  Even thought we live in three different states, we were all together for a few hours last weekend.  So we spent some time talking about how we can better serve our guests.  And we took a couple of pictures so you can put faces to the names you see on our emails.

This is the group.  Standing from right to left:

• Angie Jones - our youngest daughter.  Angie put our Web sites together and still keeps them running smoothly.  Whenever we have a technical problem, we call Angie.  She also got everything set up for our registration system on ivacationonline, and organized the credit card payment system.  Angie also is our backup if we're traveling - so you may see her name on an email from time to time.  Angie lives with her husband, Tim, and their two boys in South Carolina - just south of Charlotte.
• Marcia Russell - our middle daughter.  Marcia started helping with reservations late last year.  When you inquire about one of our cabins, Marcia will usually be the one who responds.  She can access your inquiry on either her laptop computer or her Kindle Fire, so she is rarely out of touch.  Marcia, husband John and their two boys live in middle Tennessee.
• The newest member of our team is Nathan Russell.  Nathan is one of our grandsons (John and Marcia's youngest).  At age 13, he is a technical wizard.  He backs us up by checking our online calendars to make sure they are correct (and yes, occasionally he finds a mistake).  He also does research for us to see what other cabin owners are doing, so we make sure we're on top of current trends, pricing, etc.

In fact, while we were together, Nathan spent some time checking our recent Web site changes to make sure everything was correct.

There's one more person in the top picture - the old guy sitting at the table.  That's me - Dave - the writer of these blog/Facebook posts.  My wife, Phyllis, and I are the owners of All Decked Out and Smoky Mountain Tower.  So we manage our cabin rentals - the advertising, the maintenance and repairs, the special correspondence, the financial reporting, and everything else.  But we couldn't do it without the others in our family who are such a tremendous help.

So the next time you contact us for rental information - or anything else - you will now have a better idea of the team who is ready to serve you.  Please write us with any questions or suggestions.  As you see in the pictures, we're never very far from a computer, and we are ready to help however we can!  In our next post, we'll give you some examples of the way we have helped our guests.

Olympics in Gatlinburg?

If you're like our family, you're spending some time these days watching the Olympics.  Marcia and I were talking last night about all the Olympic events.  We looked up the list and found there are 30 different events at the London games.  That got us thinking about how many of these sports can be played in and around Gatlinburg.  Here's the list we came up with:

• Archery - we think there's an archery range at the Bass Pro Shop at I-40 and exit 407
• Badminton - bring your set (or buy one locally) - there are plenty of fields in the National Park where you can play - or even in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge parks.
• Basketball - there's a basketball court at Mills Park, behind Gatlinburg-Pittman High School
• Boxing - I don't know about your grandkids, but mine are pretty good at finding places to box!
• Canoe/kayak - yes, plus whitewater rafting
• Cycling - bring your bikes or rent them - and you can even go mountain biking
• Diving - definitely, in the Clubhouse pool, only 500 yards from either Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out
• Equestrian - plenty of places to go horseback riding
• Gymnastics - did you know there is a gymnastics "Winter Blast" at the convention center each February?
• Handball - the Gatlinburg Community Center has handball courts
• Rowing - well, maybe not exactly the same, but you can get boats on a variety of lakes
• Sailing - Douglas lake is big enough for sailing
• Shooting - yes, in season and in certain places, you can go hunting
• Soccer/football - Gatlinburg-Pittman High School has soccer fields
• Swimming - of course, in the Clubhouse pools mentioned above
• Table tennis - yes, at the South Clubhouse, just 5 minutes away.  Get more information at www.ChaletVillageOwnersClub.com.
• Tennis - there are several courts at the Clubhouse, just 500 yards from our cabins.
• Track and field - sure - you can run and jump just about anywhere!
• Volleyball - just like badminton, you can set up your own court.
• Water polo - back to the Clubhouse pools!
• Weightlifting - there's a workout room at the South Clubhouse
• Wrestling - if you're careful and don't break anything, you can do it at our cabins.  Our grandkids do it all the time!

That's 22 of the 30 Olympic sports.  And as soon as they make sightseeing and shopping into Olympic sports, you'll find even more.
The point is pretty simple.  You will never run out of things to do in the Gatlinburg area.  And, if you had made your reservations earlier this year, you could now be sitting in Smoky Mountain Tower or All Decked Out and watching the London 2012 Olympics on any one of our 10 TV sets!

THANK YOU for saving money!

It's about 2:40 am on Wednesday, August 1.  I have just finished changing all our advertising Web sites and all the prices, after our 16th Anniversary Sale.

I am happy to report that five families saved almost $500.00 yesterday.  We're glad they were able to take advantage of our 16% savings.

But there are still a lot of good dates available at both Smoky Mountain Tower and All Decked Out - including Christmas at both cabins.  And we haven't raised holiday rates, so you will still get a great deal.  Because we still don't charge any extra fees - like cleaning fees, registration fees, extra person fees, hot tub fees, etc.  How many other 3-bedroom cabins can you find for less than $200.00 per night?

In fact, we would love to have you compare our cabin size and amenities with any other Gatlinburg cabin.  Please let us know if you find a better deal.  If it really is a better deal, we would like to try to match it.  No promises, but we'll do the best we can.

Check our calendars - they're up to date and ready for you to make your reservation!

The Anniversary Deal is ON!

It's currently 12:45 am as I write this post.  At exactly midnight, I finished changing all the prices to reflect the discount of 16% for our one-day anniversary sale.  And by 12:06 am, we had already received 3 reservations!  Those folks made SURE to get the dates they wanted.

In a few minutes, I'm going to try to get a little sleep.  But Marcia and I will be checking reservations in just a few hours.  We will confirm reservations as fast as we can.

Remember, TODAY is the ONLY day you will be able to save 16% on your reservations at either All Decked Out or Smoky Mountain Tower.  Here are the direct links to our booking site for checking our up-to-date calendar and making your reservation:

All Decked Out -
   -Date Availability - http://www.SmokiesRentDirect.com/All-Decked-Out/Availability
   -Reservations - http://www.ivacationonline.com/Rentals/Rental_View.asp?PropertyID=985

Smoky Mountain Tower -
   -Date Availability - http://www.smokymountaintower.com/about-the-cabin/availability/
    -Reservations - http://www.ivacationonline.com/Rentals/Rental_View.asp?PropertyID=963

Don't wait.  Tonight at midnight EDT, these deals will go away and the prices will be a little higher than they were yesterday.  Today is the ONLY day to save!

National Park visits are on the increase

We just got the word.  Visits to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park for the first six months of 2012 increased by more than 11 percent.  And both Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are showing double-digit increases in visitors this year.

You know what that means, don't you?  Yep - it's going to be harder to find a good place to stay.  So there is no better time than NOW to make your plans for your visit to the Smokies - especially because you can save some big money this coming Tuesday, July 31.  That's the day of our 16%-off Anniversary Sale.

Just in case you missed it before, here are the links to our Specials pages that have all the details:

All Decked Out - http://www.smokiesrentdirect.com/all-decked-out/specials

Smoky Mountain Tower - http://www.smokymountaintower.com/specials/

Remember, as soon as you decide which cabin is the best for you, click on "Availability" to check the calendar.  Then click "Book Online Now" to make your reservation.  If you're worried that somebody else might grab your dates, you can make your reservation right now.  Otherwise, July 31 is the day!