The COVID-19 pandemic has not closed the doors on cabin rentals in Gilmer County.
In fact, information provided by the Gilmer Chamber and Board of Commissioners points to the short-stay rentals increasing for 2020 thus far.
“One of the things we were really concerned about (because of the pandemic) was how big of a hit we were going to take on the cabin rental fees. We were looking at that as an overall indicator of SPLOST and what we might expect,” said Gilmer Commission Chairman Charlie Paris. “What we found was, in March, which was the first month we were concerned with, the SPLOST revenue and also the cabin rental fees were actually up from March of last year.”
That trend has continued through summer and into fall, noted Lisa Salman, Gilmer Chamber tourism manager. She said the chamber can use a software program to find the percentage of lodging that’s booked for a certain period of time.
“Right now, for this weekend, we’re at 90 percent capacity for cabins, and we’re at 90 percent through mid-October,” said Salman last week. “Thanksgiving is one of our busiest times because a lot of families come up for that fall feel they get here. For Thanksgiving, they’re already booked up at 86 percent capacity, and Christmas is already booked at 59 percent.”
Paris and Salman both noted that more people are probably coming to the mountains for a getaway that doesn’t involve flying, huge crowds or traveling internationally as the pandemic continues.
“We’ve seen that, when the economy starts to decline to some degree, people don’t want to spend the money for a week or two-week vacation and they take day trips. With the cabin rentals, I believe what we’re seeing is people who’ve been stuck at home for quite a while and they want to go somewhere, but they don’t want to fly or go to a hotel. They feel more comfortable in a cabin where it would be just them and nobody else staying there with them,” Paris said.
“(The cabins) started booking out in May when they reopened. I think we had a bigger increase in May because kids were out of school and family vacations got moved early. You couldn’t go on cruises or fly places. Beaches were closed and Disney wasn’t open,” Salman said. “We’ve had some Floridians, as well as people from Alabama and Tennessee coming here. It’s not far and it’s a beautiful area to visit.”
Debbie Osborne, of Mountain Oasis Cabin Rentals, said 2020 has actually been her busiest year since she and her husband started the cabin rental company almost seven years ago.
“Last month, we didn’t think we could do any better, then we broke a record again. That’s what happened in August. We had our biggest month ever,” she said. “Our biggest range of people are coming from the Atlanta area. I think people feel more comfortable being able to drive to a location rather than fly. They go to the mountains and can do a lot of outdoor activities, hiking and getting back to basics. They feel safe doing that. I think that has a big role in it.”
Osborne said her business rents out 62 cabins and she already has a waiting list for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
“Everybody kind of thinks fall is our busiest season, but June and July are our biggest months. July did not disappoint us this year,” she added.
Brooks Wade, owner of Cartecay River Brewing Company, said he’s also been seeing steady business from customers visiting from outside the county, mainly Florida and the metro Atlanta area. His craft brewery reopened in May after being closed for almost six weeks.
“Despite the challenges of this year, business has been good and I’m happy to be open. It’s been a tremendously busy summer compared to what I was expecting, especially with COVID-19,” he added. “A lot of people are coming up for a day from places like Canton, Woodstock or the Kennesaw area. They’re hiking or biking, then coming by to get a beer. People can get out and social distance. They can get out on hiking trails, and they’re not jammed up with a bunch of other people. I think that all plays into it.”
The county’s 5-percent hotel/motel tax that’s also collected on cabin rentals is split 70/30 between the county and the chamber. More people visiting and staying in the county for extended periods boosts that revenue, as well as SPLOST revenue collected when people shop here, Paris said.
“The hotel/motel tax comes to us, and we distribute 30 percent to the Chamber. They are a DMO (Destination Marketing Organization), and they promote tourism in the county. If you have a cabin rental fee, a certain percentage of that must be given to an organization that promotes tourism and we have selected the Chamber. There’s nobody else here in Gilmer (that promotes tourism) short of somebody starting something up,” Paris said. “We actually give them more than we’re required to because tourism has become such a mainstay for us. We want to give them the resources to go out and really promote it.”
The influx of visitors renting cabins can also bring occasional disturbances, noted a property owner who recently formed a responsible cabin rental group that’s meeting virtually for the time being.
Jim Paukert said he lives on the west end of the county close to several rental cabins. He wants the group to be a way for people who live near cabins to have an open conversation with the county’s rental companies.
“Our main problem here has been late night noise and people having parties till midnight or 1 a.m. Our group is about trying to find a way to resolve those problems with the people who are making money renting out the cabins,” he said. “We know how important the cabin rental business is for Gilmer County and its government and businesses. We don’t want them to lose a single dollar of business. We just want to find a way to resolve any issues we have in the process and minimize problems without bothering the county. ”
Paukert said he hasn’t had a problem with noisy neighbors since mid-August, but the group will continue to meet and discuss.
“(That) makes me believe the property managers are being a little more proactive when they rent these places out. They have very good rules in place and a wonderful rental agreement that says no noise after 10 p.m. I want to thank them for that,” he said. “Most renters are responsible and come up here for peace and quiet. (Sometimes) people will come up from the city and think they’re in the middle of nowhere, but they’re not. Most of them don’t realize they’re bothering others.”