Good Neighbor Podcast: TN-WNC-SWVA

EP# #338: Gorgeous Stays: A family finds purpose and community by turning a glamping campground into a place to reconnect.

• Skip Mauney & Wendi Kribs • Episode 338

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Trade the noise for a night sky and the constant scroll for a deck of cards. We sit with Wendi Kribs, co-owner of Gorgeous Stays near Bryson City, to unpack how a glamping campground can deliver the comforts of home without the distractions—and why that balance changes how people connect. From rustic tent platforms and safari tents to yurts, tiny homes, a shipping container, and even renovated buses, Wendi shares how they built a choose-your-own-adventure experience that fits families, Appalachian Trail hikers, and curious travelers who crave both nature and cleanliness.

What makes this story different is the heartbeat behind the business. After years in Michigan—her husband as a chiropractor—they moved to Western North Carolina and discovered a property that mirrored their dream on paper and in spirit. They bought it and reshaped their routines: early morning and evening work, play in the middle of the day, and a porch that sometimes doubles as a pop-up chiropractic office. Layered into that is a candid look at parenting a son with special needs, the decision to avoid passing each other in the driveway, and the choice to build a life where everyone has a role and a place at the table.

We walk through what guests can expect: a welcoming community lodge for shared meals, pool, darts, guitar jams, and game-day moments; a thoughtfully stocked bathhouse with hot showers, towels, and toiletries; and units designed to deliver hot coffee, fluffy pillows, and a good night’s sleep before you step back into the trees. Wendi also talks about serving hikers in season, meeting families where they are, and answering the “gazillion” glamping questions personally so guests land in the right space from the start.

If you’ve ever wondered whether glamping is too fancy or not comfortable enough, this conversation clears the fog and offers real-world examples of how flexible, human-centered hospitality works. Subscribe for more neighbor-to-neighbor stories, share this episode with a friend who needs a mountain reset, and leave a quick review to help others find the show.

SPEAKER_00:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Marty.

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. So today I'm really excited to have someone in our studio for the first time to talk about themselves and their and their business and what they do. And I'm sure you'll be just as excited because today I have the distinct pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, Miss Wendy Cribs, who is co-owner of Gorgeous Stays. Wendy, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you very much. Pleasure to be here.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, we're thrilled to have you. Like I said, excited to learn all about you and what you do. So if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off by telling us about uh gorgeous stays?

SPEAKER_02:

Sure. So about two years ago, my husband and I um we relocated here uh from Michigan, and uh we thought we were going to buy a place and build our dream that we've had on paper, but we came across uh gorgeous stays and and it looked like the previous owner already built our dream. So instead of recreating the will, we bought gorgeous stays, and we have this beautiful foundation uh of our dream, and we've been adding to it. So we're a glamping campground.

SPEAKER_01:

Very nice. And so from Michigan to uh surprise the city. Wow.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

How did you how did you pick uh Western North Carolina or or did it just fall in front of you?

SPEAKER_02:

It picked us. Um, I'm actually originally from South Florida, my husband's from Michigan, and uh we've spent the last 25 years in Michigan uh doing our careers and raising our kids, and uh we knew that it uh we were gonna come back to the mountains one day. We when we got married a gajillion years ago, we eloped to Asheville. And uh yeah, so that was kind of the start. We always figured when we retire, we'd come back. Well, we're not ready to retire, but we've had a um a circumstance in our life that we didn't plan for, and uh so we're we're still working, but why not enjoy the mountains while we're here?

SPEAKER_01:

There you go. There you go. Now, what are some myths or misconceptions uh in your industry that you can think of?

SPEAKER_02:

So glamping is such a broad term that covers every aspect of camping that you can possibly imagine. So I think the misconception is, oh no, no, no, I don't glamp. Oh, I can't do that kind of camping. I need a hotel or and then the reverse of it is people that are very familiar with camping, they're like, oh no, I don't need glamping. I need something more rustic. And what I love about our property is that we're able to accommodate every bit of that. We have tent rustic tent platforms that though want to bring their tent and uh and camp out there. We have platforms all the way up to safari tents and yurts and tiny homes, shipping container, all the way to renovated buses. So it accommodates every level of camping that you can imagine. And the other part that we love about our property is we have this community lodge, and it's that hangout spot, share a meal, play some pool, throw some darts, pick up the guitar, watch the football game, whatever it is that you enjoy, and there's that community space both inside and on the porch, and then you go back to your unit or your tent and uh and you get to to glamp that way. It's really cool, it's a really great experience for everybody.

SPEAKER_01:

Very cool. A little bit of something for everybody.

SPEAKER_02:

Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So uh, so who are your target customers? Do you or do you have a target customer?

SPEAKER_02:

You know, I'm not sure I can 100% answer that. We're not even two years into this. So I feel that we're still doing our new business checklist. Um, so I guess in a sense, our target is anybody that wants to get away from their everyday life, whether it's um, you know, families that want to take a vacation and enjoy everything that Bryson City has to offer. Um the other big part of our business plan was to be close to the Appalachian Trail. So for um a portion of the year and certain units, we accommodate hikers on the Appalachian Trail. And that that accommodation and setup and amenities looks completely different than the family that's getting together to have a glamping experience. So um, so our target audience are the hikers, the adventurous, the family vacation. Um, there's it's quite a big audience.

SPEAKER_01:

Very cool. Yeah, very cool. Especially being close to the Appalachian Trail. That's very cool. So um outside of work. If uh if if there is an outside of work, what do you like to do for fun?

SPEAKER_02:

You know, there really is. Um, so backing up a little bit, in Michigan, we had our careers. My husband's a chiropractor, and uh he did that full-time in Michigan, and now he does it part-time here on the porch. He's got a beautiful office on the porch and still sees patients, but he just does it part-time. Um, and we have set our business up that we don't work the nine to five anymore. We work that 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. And then we work that like 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. And then we do a lot of playing in between.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, very good.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep. So we we have one um child that's in the high school, and so we drop him off in the morning, and uh we get to enjoy kind of the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday weekend, that's our weekend, and we'll go paddle, we'll hike, um, we'll run our errands to Asheville or whatever we need to do, but that's our playtime.

SPEAKER_01:

Very cool. And while you live in a beautiful place where there's all sorts of things to do, there is definitely outdoor activity, yeah. Yes. So uh let's switch gears. Can you describe a hardship or a life challenge that you've overcome, professional or personal, uh it made you stronger?

SPEAKER_02:

I I think that is part of our um, I don't know, unique story, certainly not unique because there's a lot of families that are are probably walking in our shoes. Um, so we have three children, and our youngest child, uh, he's almost 18, has special needs. And we knew early on that our son will be with us in the home always. So those beginning um newly married plans of you know, those 2.3 children with that white picket fence and off they go to so um that that changed for us. And um when we thought about our move to Asheville, uh it became the right time because our older children are out being adults, and um my husband and I got into this routine for about two years that he would work days and I would work nights, and we'd sort of pass each other in the driveway and dinners in the crock pot and and uh I try and stay awake and I'll see you later. And uh we did that for about two years, and it is the rest of our life, and we are we are perfectly content with our situation. Um, our empty nest has one little bird still in it, and so we were like, let's go do something together, let's let's not be resentful towards anybody, uh, let's not be bitter, and let's still have a really good time in life, and let's go do something that all three of us can do. So we've incorporated our son in our glamping campground, he has chores that he does, not always happy about them, but uh and and Scott and I get to work together and we get to have our meals together, and there is no more passing in the driveway.

SPEAKER_01:

Awesome, great, that's a great, great story. Yeah. So if um and thank you for sharing that. Yes um, so if you could think of one thing that you would like uh our listeners and viewers to remember about gorgeous stays, what would that be?

SPEAKER_02:

Gorgeous stays for us is all a lot of the experiences and luxuries of home without any of the distractions. That's what that's kind of what uh our glamping units are. You need a comfy bed and a fluffy pillow and a hot shower and a hot cup of coffee, like all those things we love about home, but the distractions, they just we find that people put their phones down and they get out the board game that's in the lodge, and it really is about that moment of of reconnecting before we go back and and hit the routine.

SPEAKER_01:

Very, very cool. Now, do you you piqued my interest? Are there are there showers in the some of the tents?

SPEAKER_02:

Or so we have in our lodge, we have a beautiful bathhouse, they're so uniquely decorated. Um, and we have hot showers. We even take care of the towels and the soap and the shampoo and all of that. Um, and in our units, we have uh an RV toilet that we ask our guests, you know, kind of nighttime use, but we have a full bathhouse to take care of all this.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so very nice, awesome, awesome. Yeah, that's my rustic uh my daughter's boyfriend probably wouldn't want the the toilet and the in the hot shower. He he's more of a rustic guy, but I'm I'm the opposite.

SPEAKER_02:

So we'll stick him on the platform and put you guys in the double decker bus.

SPEAKER_01:

There we go. There we go. Very cool. Well, for those of us who uh are interested, would love to plan a weekend or uh uh you know family get together kind of thing, what uh how can we learn more?

SPEAKER_02:

So we have a great website, gorgeous stays.com. There's a double S there in the middle. And uh, and then I of course carry this phone around all the time. And uh that's another great thing about our business plan is when you call our number, uh 828-421-2282, um, you're gonna get a live person. And uh a lot of times people have a gajillion questions about glamping, and and uh we love to answer them.

SPEAKER_01:

Very cool, very cool. Well, I I love that. Yeah, when somebody when you call a number, you're gonna more than likely get you, right? So yeah.

SPEAKER_02:

Oh, my husband does not like the phone, so you're definitely gonna get me. Awesome.

SPEAKER_01:

Awesome, love it. I love it. It's so many businesses today, that's not the case. And so I I love it. So it means a lot. So um, Wendy, I can't tell you how much we appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule uh to uh come hang with us and tell us all about uh the glamping experience at Gorgeous Days, and uh we wish you and your husband, your uh uh clients and your family all the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_02:

Wonderful. We look forward to seeing you and your family. Come stay with us.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely, and uh maybe we can uh maybe we can have you back sometime when your husband can join us.

SPEAKER_02:

That'd be great.

SPEAKER_01:

All right, thanks so much. You have a great rest of the day.

SPEAKER_02:

Thank you. You too.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP Try Dash Cities dot com. That's GNP Try Dash Cities.com, or call four two two three seven one nine five eight seven three.