Smoky Mountain Resorts finds large-scale business management a breeze with SiteMinder

OPERATIONS

Smoky Mountain Resorts finds large-scale business management a breeze with SiteMinder

"Smoky Mountain Resorts combines family-friendly accommodation with the exhilaration of adventure across three Tennessee locations. Whether it’s seasonal river tubing at Creekstone Inn located at Little Pigeon River, waterpark action at Country Cascades in the heart of Pigeon Forge, or indoor and outdoor slides at The Resort at Governor’s Crossing in Sevierville, guests are in for a summer to remember. All of the hotels have stunning views of nature and are located in the Great Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee."

Why it matters: As operating hotels in one of the most saturated tourism markets in the Southeast means that we must always continue evolving and investing in our growth both as a brand and with our offerings to guests. With more than 600 rooms to manage across three bustling properties that also provide a great food and beverage experience, it takes a lot to do it successfully.

"As a brand, we strongly lean into our unique selling propositions for each property to help us stand out and offer guests a wonderful experience. SiteMinder’s platform was perfectly suited to ensure the group not only managed operations seamlessly, but flourished."

Top 3 Core Objectives: Streamline operations, expand guest reach, and optimise pricing to stay ahead and drive revenue growth.

Streamline Operations: Automate availability and rate updates across various OTAs, reducing manual workload. With features such as the channel manager and booking engine, hotels can enjoy fully automated inventory management in real-time, take direct bookings seamlessly via their own website, and also attract direct bookings from metasearch sites like Google.
Top Notch Integration: Heather explained that is imperactive for Smoky Mountain Resorts to have their distribution platform integrated into their PMS. The hotel gets notified of cancellations through the integrations, which allows better visibility on inventory and guest records. This integration not only optimizes internal processes but also enhances the guest experience by ensuring smooth booking and check-in procedures and improving overall guest satisfaction.
Dynamic Pricing Strategy: Regularly analysing competitor rates to make timely pricing adjustments, ensuring they remain competitive and a top choice for guests.

Innovators Mentioned

Smoky Mountain Resorts

SiteMinder

Heather Minyard

Director of Commercial Strategy

Smoky Mountain Resorts

"It has been a remarkable journey witnessing the continuous evolution and improvements made to the platform. Over this extended period, I have come to appreciate how diligently the SiteMinder team has worked to enhance its functionality and features, leaving me with the distinct impression that there is little, if anything at all, left to be desired, she said."

Heather Minyard

Director of Commercial Strategy

👍 Director of Commercial Strategy Heather Minyard said that the brand has been relying on SiteMinder for over three years, and Heather can attest to the fact that the platform only gets better over time as new and improved features are rolled out:

"It has been a remarkable journey witnessing the continuous evolution and improvements made to the platform. Over this extended period, I have come to appreciate how diligently the SiteMinder team has worked to enhance its functionality and features, leaving me with the distinct impression that there is little, if anything at all, left to be desired, she said."

⚖️ The selection process: During their research process, Heather Minyard evaluated SiteMinder's product differentiators, customer support, and holistic value as a strategic partner and ultimately decided that SiteMinder was the best fit solution:

Director of Commercial Strategy Heather Minyard said, about their decision: "The remarkable ease of use for the booking engine, channel manager and metasearch and swift issue resolution made my experience with the platform highly satisfying. The team’s dedication to refining and expanding the platform has resulted in a robust and highly effective tool that has consistently met and exceeded my expectations."

📈 The results: With no manual errors and a smart pricing strategy, Smoky Mountain Resorts reaches diverse guest demographics and maximise revenue while staying ahead of the competition.

There’s no need to worry about double bookings, manual data entry, or user errors. This newfound efficiency enables Smoky Hotels to allocate more time and attention to meaningful tasks, secure in the knowledge that any potential issues will receive the swift and effective attention they require.
Heather stated that the consistent efforts put forth by the SiteMinder team to refine and improve their product have culminated in a highly reliable and user-friendly solution that she fully trust and appreciates. “I greatly value promptly updating rates, efficiently managing various tasks, and maintaining seamless connectivity with the platform. It liberates me from the laborious manual tasks that were once the standard practice, significantly enhancing my workflow.” she said.
"A feature like SiteMinder Insights means Heather and the team can always ensure they are competitive in the market. We closely monitor competitor rates on a daily basis, allowing us to make timely adjustments to our pricing strategy to ensure we remain a preferred choice for guests."