There is a version of hospitality development that starts and ends with the biggest cities on the map. Blake Dailey is not doing that version.
Blake is the founder of Stayvest, a boutique hotel operator focused on experiential travel destinations, and his portfolio is built around places like Townsend, Tennessee and Blue Ridge, Georgia.
Not because they are hidden gems nobody has heard of, but because they sit at the intersection of strong, consistent travel demand and the kind of natural environment that busy people genuinely need to get to. Both markets draw millions of visitors annually and sit within easy driving distance of some of the most populated metro areas in the Southeast.
The core insight driving Stayvest’s approach is straightforward. The people who live and work in cities like Atlanta, Nashville, and Charlotte are the same people who book mountain getaways on the weekends. High-density urban living does not reduce the appetite for the outdoors. It increases it. The more someone’s week looks like back-to-back meetings and constant connectivity, the more their ideal weekend looks like the opposite.
“When you look at leisure destination tourism, it is most prevalent just outside those major metros,” Blake says. “We are trying to cater to that busy couple, that busy professional, who wants a peaceful retreat to disconnect and reconnect.”
Stayvest’s target markets follow a consistent set of criteria. Proximity to a large population base is non-negotiable. So is access to outdoor recreation and a natural setting that gives guests a genuine reason to unplug. The strongest markets also have enough local character – dining, wineries, guided experiences, community feel – to anchor a multi-day stay without requiring guests to travel far.
Tremont Lodge sits in one of the most active leisure travel environments in the country. Great Smoky Mountain National Park consistently leads the nation in visitation, drawing 12 to 14 million people every year.
Even the quieter, less commercialized side of the Smokies where Tremont is located sees close to 3 million visitors annually. Blake and his wife Nicole both have personal roots in the area, having grown up visiting the Smokies with their own families. That familiarity shaped how they approached Tremont from the start – with a clear sense of who their guest is and what that guest is actually looking for.
Knowing the numbers is one thing. Knowing the place is another. Blake’s background as a military contract and program management officer trained him to run complex projects with precision, managing scope, budget, and timelines in environments where the margin for error is slim. That operational discipline carries directly into how Stayvest evaluates and renovates properties.
But the market knowledge comes from being present. The Smokies are not one monolithic destination. Different towns, different elevations, different demographics, different reasons people show up. That texture only becomes visible when you spend real time in it.
Drive-to leisure destinations also tend to demonstrate a degree of resilience that larger markets can struggle to match. Travelers may reconsider long-haul flights and luxury urban hotels when economic conditions shift, but a weekend drive to the mountains at an accessible price point often remains within reach. That dynamic tends to favor well-run boutique properties in exactly the kind of markets Stayvest focuses on.
For Blake, the bigger opportunity in boutique hospitality is rarely in the most obvious places. It is in markets where travel demand is durable, the guest experience can be genuinely differentiated, and an operator with deep local knowledge can build something guests want to come back to. Tremont Lodge, which has exceeded its post-renovation performance benchmarks every month since reopening, reflects what that approach looks like in practice.
About Stayvest: Stayvest is a boutique hotel acquisition and operations firm focused on transforming underutilized hospitality assets in top leisure travel destinations across the United States. Led by founder and CEO Blake Dailey, the company applies a value-add approach through elevated design, premium amenities, and a consistently excellent guest experience, managed through its in-house hospitality brand, Explorent. Blake is also the founder of Boutique Hotel Con and Hotel Launch, a mastermind community for boutique hotel operators. Learn more at stayvest.co.
This article is based on information provided by the expert source cited above. It is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or real estate advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult qualified professionals before making any real estate or financial decisions.