I’ve spent years developing what was an emerging trend when this all got started. Sky Ridge Yurts was born out of love and a touch of tragedy. My mom Rosa (who will occasionally pose for selfies and sign autographs these days) became the original “yurt lady” when she moved into a yurt almost seventeen years ago just behind my childhood home in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina. We – like many times before – thought she was crazy as we helped her put up her new “toy”. It didn’t take us long, though, to see that she – like many times before – wasn’t crazy at all. She was ahead of her time. We all said repeatedly that weekend that people would pay to stay in something like this yurt. But in the end, we decided, no. That probably wasn’t really going to ever be a thing.
Fast forward fifteen years and America’s Glamping industry is one of the fastest growing opportunities on the market, with thousands of thrill seekers looking for lodging that goes beyond standard hotel rooms and gives them something completely unexpected to build their vacation memories in. And during that time, I lost my husband to a tragic bike accident. I had to find some way to provide for myself and his two young daughters – only three and five – that wouldn’t also take mommy out of the home that was already obviously missing the most amazing daddy. The answer was – yurts. I built three of them while my family watched and wondered if they should step in and say something about me losing my mind. Thankfully, they didn’t, and I was on the leading wave of what would become the Glamping industry as we know it today.
Sky Ridge is and will always be a place of rest and healing for me, and a place that taught me that big ideas and big dreams can push you forward into places and spaces you never thought you’d be if you’re willing to try. I learned there that being ahead of the “next big thing” is a very good place to be. But more important than that, it’s taught me that if you do your best work and strive to deliver the best experience you can, and if you treat everyone with the respect and kindness we all crave at every opportunity you can, any venture will be a success. Today, Sky Ridge is considered one of the very best Glamping facilities in the United States. And that’s something I never saw coming.
Something else that I never saw coming was that I would one day switch gears and expand with another location that has very little to do with Glamping. I know, right?!? Why would I change the formula of a winning experience? People pay me to teach them how to open their own yurt villages. They’ll pay for me to come out and put their yurts up for them. With things going so well, why do something different? That’s a fair question. Concierge Service Just Might Be The Next Big Thing.... So, remember that lesson about being ahead of the “next big thing” I mentioned earlier? That’s why.
About three years ago, I started to notice that our calls for help to open Glamping destinations started to tick up. Like, significantly tick up. To me, that means the wave is finally here. Now, my opinion has always been that a rising tide lifts all boats, so what pushed me in another direction with our newest venture – Long View Resort – was not fear of too much competition. Competition is best managed by how well you serve your customers, not necessarily by what it is you’re selling. But with so many people jumping into the Glamping pool, that signaled me to try and target what that “next big thing” might be. So, here’s my best guess at what’s next – a return to service.
We’ve spent many years pulling away from others on our American vacations. Online booking monsters (don’t get me started) like Airbnb and VRBO have pushed the idea that we should get away and be totally alone in other people’s homes. I bought the hype, too. Rent out an entire home in a gorgeous area and be totally left alone. Sounds dreamy – and honestly, sometimes it is. But in working this hospitality business and coming down the backside of almost two decades now, I can tell you just based on my guests’ Facebook pics, texts, and guest book writings that they’re only scratching the surface of what can be done in and around our homes. And the amazing thing is, we’re almost the only ones in the world that do it that way. Here in America, we get away from each other. Everywhere else, connections are so important to an experience.
So, when I stumbled upon another gorgeous mountain view just a few miles from Sky Ridge, it was time to take another big risk and see if I might be right again. This time, instead of more unique lodging, we’ve opted for full concierge service. We’ve borrowed our experiences in Nordic countries and brought them here – both in style and service – to the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina. It’s a bit of a hybrid – a little bit cabin rental, a little bit hotel – and it's something that we haven’t seen before in this area. At Long View, you’ll get amazingly hand-crafted interiors nestled into the side of a mountain with breathtaking sweeping views all around. You’ll also get a staff ready and eager to help you find all the little hidden gems you don’t even know are around you, to prepare your breakfast and make your dinner reservations for you, and to make sure you have everything you need to make your stay as perfect as it can be. And you’ll get the type of service that we know you want and deserve.
Curious? Come and stay with us at Long View Resort and join the growing list of guests who were skeptical at first that they could be comfortable in a shared space, but left raving that their time here was the best they’ve ever spent on a vacation. Am I right about connection and service being what’s missing from today’s vacations? Who knows? But what I do know is that it feels right, and every day someone waves goodbye after a stay at Long View, I’m pretty positive they’ll be back.
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