Some Blog Site

We are planning a trip down south that involves a stop for one night near the Smoky Mountains. Looking for a place to stay, Some Wife found a variety of rental cabins around Gatlinburg.

Since it was going to be off-season, the rates looked reasonable: $160/night, $180/night, and higher of course. But I figured $180 for a night for a cabin that fits the whole family is a good deal. Too good to be true, which of course it was, but I didn’t know that at the time.

I thought the rate would be $180 for a night, plus some taxes and fees, so I started booking it. It was open the night we wanted, good there. I entered my name and address and then they gave me the total so I could proceed to enter my financial information and book the cabin.

That $180 turned into $480 with taxes and fees.

Not a good deal.

Here’s the breakdown:
Cabin: $180
1-night stay fee: $75
Hot tub fee: $40
Cleaning fee: $80
Premium service fee: $50
Sales tax: $54.19
——
Total: $479.19

I think they really want you to stay longer. The fee structure seems to be setup that way.

Let’s see how it looks for a week (7 days / 6 nights).

Cabin: $180 * 6 = $1080
1-night stay fee: $0
Hot tub fee: $40
Cleaning fee: $80
Premium service fee: $50
Sales tax: $159.38
——
Total: $1409.38

So you can stay 6 times longer for less than 3 times the price.

1-night effective rate: $479.19
6-night effective rate: $234.90

My recommendation if you’re staying in the Smoky Mountains National Park area and really want a cabin: go for a longer time and find a cabin without a hot tub.