Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
Gatlinburg has long been a prime place for people to have fun and relax. After a busy day visiting the Great Smoky Mountains and nearby attractions, tourists needed a comfortable place to sleep. Author and historian Brian McKnight’s latest book, “Lost Motels of Gatlinburg,” is a trip down memory lane of the time before corporate chain establishments dominated the town.
McKnight’s interest in the subject resulted from vacations in Gatlinburg involving his then-girlfriend-now-wife, before moving to Sevierville, Tennessee, in 2009, working at a hotel in Pigeon Forge, collecting old local motel memorabilia and creating video documentaries about east Tennessee history. However, having his photos and other mementos of past area attractions used in Tim Hollis’ “Lost Attractions of the Smoky Mountains” inspired him to research and write his own manuscript about an essential part of Gatlinburg’s history.
“It was a no-brainer for me to go ahead and write something,” McKnight said.
1 of 4
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
2 of 4
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
3 of 4
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
4 of 4
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
Gatlinburg’s lodging history dates back to 1916 when the city’s first hotel, the Mountain View, opened for loggers. Although several more hotels and cabins opened during the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it was not until after World War II that a growing economy and the tourists that followed led to construction of many of its overnight destinations.
“People were traveling and wanted to get out and explore, and Gatlinburg was a big draw,” McKnight said. Many of the motels built during this time for those arriving by automobile were along Gatlinburg’s main arteries, with names such as the Smokyland Motel and Four Seasons Motor Lodge, on the Parkway, Wade’s Motor Court on River Road, and the Dogwood Motel, located on Airport Road.
In the past, most of Gatlinburg’s motels, hotels, and cabins were family-owned and built with government checks received from the purchase of their home property to make way for the new park. Most motels began with a few rooms, with more added as demand grew and the owners earned more revenue. “These families could not afford to start with 100 rooms, so they started with a few,” McKnight said. Family members would pitch in and perform tasks at the motels, checking in guests and cleaning rooms.
Before the advent of the internet and online booking sites, motels relied heavily on postcards and brochures of their property for advertisement. Potential guests either called the phone number on the back or received a recommendation from people they knew, either verbally or via a hand-written note on the back of the motel’s postcards. Many families and individuals frequented these motels year after year and got to know the owners personally.
“The families would sit with the owners and talk for hours and bring them gifts, while their children and the owner’s children played together,” McKnight said.
1 of 6
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
2 of 6
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
3 of 6
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
4 of 6
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
5 of 6
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
6 of 6
Gatlinburg's Hospitality History
Many early motels and cabins in Gatlinburg had basic amenities such as twin beds, a color TV, and a small pool for the kids, but also spacious lawns for guests to burn off energy or enjoy the scenery.
Although there were a few chain hotels constructed during the mid-twentieth century, such as the Holiday Inn and Howard Johnson’s, from the 1980s into the 2000s saw more chains built in Gatlinburg as visitor preferences changed. Smaller motels could not offer the same uniform amenities that corporate hotels provided.
Modern motels and commercial developments replaced older motels after the owners either retired or died and their children sold the property. “When the big chains came in, the small guys could not compete,” McKnight said. Prominent hotels that met the wrecking ball over the years include the Mountain View in 1993, Hotel Greystone in 1998, the Midtown Lodge in 2012, and the Best Western Twin Islands in 2016. The Gatlinburg wildfire of 2016 destroyed businesses, including some of the older hotels, and they were not rebuilt.
Fortunately, some of Gatlinburg’s older motels still thrive today. The Gillette Motel on Airport Road has been in the same location since the 1950s, while the Gatlinburg Inn, built in 1937, still welcomes visitors.
“As soon as you walk in the door and see the old photographs, it is like stepping back in time,“ McKnight said about the Gatlinburg Inn. Prominent Gatlinburg families that owned multiple motels during its past lodging boom, including the Huffs, Reagans, Ogles, and Whaleys, continue to operate hospitality properties in 2024.
No matter the decade, visitors to Gatlinburg can count on a place to sleep. McKnight thanks Hollis for writing the foreword to his book and for the owner’s families he interviewed for contributing stories of lodging during a simpler time in the Gateway to the Smokies. “It was worthwhile,” he said about the project.