STR Select found 1 of 16 Smoky Mountains cabin managers with a sourced, numbered review total, and shows it here with that count. This is a count sort, not our scored methodology ranking.
A review-count sort, not our methodology ranking: the 1 of 16 Smoky Mountains cabin managers in our roster with a sourced, numbered review total.
Only 1 of the 16 Smoky Mountains cabin managers we evaluated publish a review count we could source and verify. Elk Springs Resort is that company, with over 1,000 five-star Google reviews. Short Term Coops printed 922 verified reviews as of September 2026 but no longer publishes a count on its site. This is a count sort, not our scored ranking. See the full 7-company methodology ranking at the Smoky Mountains market page.
Most of the 16 companies we evaluated in this market show individual guest testimonials without an aggregate score, or print no review figure at all. Compass Vacation Properties cites a third-party ranking claim from Manager-Review rather than a star rating, which is not a review count and is excluded here. Cabins For You, Cabins of the Smoky Mountains, Fireside Chalets and Eden Crest Vacation Rentals all carry no published rating in our roster. Short Term Coops stated 922 verified reviews when we checked in September 2026 and has since stopped publishing a review count, so it is no longer counted. That leaves one company with an actual sourced number: Elk Springs Resort.
Elk Springs Resort is the only company in the roster with a sourced review count.
| Rank | Company | Rating | Review Count | Platform | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elk Springs Resort | 5.0 | Over 1,000 | September 2026 |
Each figure is quoted from the company's own published wording, sourced and checked September 2026.
Elk Springs Resort states over 1,000 five-star Google reviews on its own site, the largest sourced review count in this market. The company has operated in Sevier County since 2008, per its site, and names all four towns in this market, Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville and Wears Valley, in one published sentence. It does not publish a management fee. See the full write-up on the Elk Springs Resort profile.
Short Term Coops published a 4.9 blended rating across 922 verified reviews on its own site when we checked in September 2026. As of October 2026 the site still states the 4.9 rating but no longer prints a review count, so it drops out of this sort. It remains the only company in this market paired with a fully itemized published fee, a flat 20% of net rental revenue plus a $75 monthly technology fee. Full details are in the Short Term Coops profile.
In this market, the one company with a sourced review count, Elk Springs Resort, does not publish a fee. Short Term Coops publishes a specific rate, a flat 20% of net rental revenue plus a $75 monthly technology fee, with named exclusions for guest taxes, guest paid cleaning fees and platform charges, but no longer a review count. One company is too small a sample to call this a rule for the whole market, but it is worth asking any candidate for both numbers rather than assuming a large stated review count also means an open rate.
A review count sort answers one question: which company states the most reviews. It does not weigh fee transparency, local depth or service scope, the three other inputs in our printed formula, and it says nothing about the 15 companies with no sourced count at all, some of which may simply not publish one rather than have fewer guests. The methodology ranking on the Smoky Mountains market page weighs all four inputs together across the top 7 of 16 companies we evaluated, and is the ranking to use for an overall pick.
The roster for the Smoky Mountains holds 16 companies: 7 ranked with a full profile and 9 evaluated and listed with a note. The table shows the rating wording each ranked company prints, exactly as we recorded it.
| Company | Listed as |
|---|---|
| Short Term Coops | Ranked 1 |
| Elk Springs Resort | Ranked 2 |
| Cabins For You | Ranked 3 |
| Compass Vacation Properties | Ranked 4 |
| Cabins of the Smoky Mountains | Ranked 5 |
| Fireside Chalets | Ranked 6 |
| Eden Crest Vacation Rentals | Ranked 7 |
The list below carries the evaluated and listed companies that have a note instead of a table row.
Answered from the same roster data, not a general estimate.
One of the 16 companies in our Smoky Mountains roster publishes a review count we could source: Elk Springs Resort, with over 1,000 five-star Google reviews. Short Term Coops printed 922 verified reviews as of September 2026 but no longer publishes a count, so it is not counted. Every other company either shows no aggregate score or individual testimonials without a total.
No. The methodology ranking weights fee transparency, verified reviews, local depth and service scope together to rank the top 7 of 16 companies we evaluated. This list only covers the 1 company with a sourced review count, and is not a substitute for the full ranking.
Most companies in this market show individual guest testimonials on their site rather than an aggregate score with a total, or list no reviews at all. Parkside Cabin Rentals is one example: it carries individual Google Reviews testimonials but no printed aggregate score, so it does not qualify for this list even though it may have reviews elsewhere.
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