Mountain Inn

The challenge

What the business needed.

Mountain Inn is a family-owned, 32-room motel on Rhea County Highway in Dayton, Tennessee. It was leaving a national franchise, which meant losing the franchise name, the franchise look, and the franchise reservation system all at once.

The motel needed an identity of its own and a website that could stand in for the franchise system: show the rooms honestly, state the price up front, and let a traveler ask for a room without calling.

The solution

What I built.

1. A new identity

   A new name treatment and visual identity built around the motel’s setting in the Tennessee Valley, carried through the site and its social-sharing image.

2. Rooms and prices up front

   Room types (king and two-double, smoking and non-smoking) are listed with their nightly rates, bed configuration, and amenities, so a guest can compare before calling.

3. Book-direct request flow

   A date picker on the homepage starts a reservation request that goes straight to the front desk. No card is taken online; the page explains that requests stay pending until the motel confirms them and that payment happens at the property.

4. Answers to the questions guests ask

   Check-in and check-out times, the pet policy and fee, parking for trucks and trailers, and the distance to Chattanooga, Knoxville, and nearby outdoor spots all sit on the homepage.

5. Search foundations

   Each page has its own title and description, and the site publishes LodgingBusiness structured data with the address, room types, check-in times, and amenities that match what the page shows.