Stellara’s Meredith Garrett on Why Your Occupancy Problem Isn’t a Pricing Problem

Meredith Garrett operates Nashville party properties and remote Smoky Mountains resorts including 45-foot treehouses and glamping domes. She reveals why 8 units isn’t enough to make remote hospitality profitable, the specific staffing math that changes at scale, and how to price experiences where no traditional comps exist, plus the misalignment between marketing and service delivery that most operators miss when occupancy drops.

From navigating spiral staircases with guest luggage to managing expectation gaps between luxury glamping and actual camping, Garrett shares the operational frameworks that determine when to deploy staff versus recalibrate guests remotely. She also breaks down her crowdfunding launch strategy that created founding members at permanent discount rates who now bring full-price friends, solving both launch revenue and repeat business simultaneously.

Topics Discussed:

• Why 10-12 units is the minimum threshold for remote property profitability
• Consecutive 12-hour on-site shifts versus dispatch-based staffing economics
• Pricing unique properties through market learning when direct comps don’t exist
• The service delivery-ADR alignment framework for diagnosing booking problems
• Deploying staff after-hours versus remote expectation recalibration decision matrix
• Crowdfunding founding members at permanent discount rates who bring full-price guests
• Builder inexperience costs on unique products requiring larger financial buffers
• Operational complexity creating ADR floors regardless of occupancy pressure