The Parkman Hotel is a 46-room boutique mountain resort in Townsend, Tennessee, at the entrance to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Located on the “Peaceful Side of the Smokies,” it offers access to some of the national park’s most iconic destinations, with a quieter, more relaxed pace than busier tourist areas nearby. 

Originally established in 1953, the resort has been thoughtfully reimagined by Outland Hospitality, bringing new life to a longtime Smoky Mountain destination.

For Daniel Fletcher, Co-Founder of Outland Hospitality, the goal was to “create a property that feels connected to the history and character of the Smokies, but offers the comfort, design, and experience of a modern boutique hotel.”

The Challenge

The Parkman’s renovations brought a modern feel to the property, but room access still relied on physical keys handed to guests at check-in. 

Without a 24/7 front desk, late guest arrivals meant staff had to wait to hand over keys or coordinate handoffs through outdated communication methods. Lockboxes served as a backup for after-hours emergencies, while lost keys, lockouts, and collecting keys from guests at checkout added to the workload.

The Parkman needed a more flexible way to manage guest access around the clock and reduce the time staff spent managing keys. 

The Solution

Integration with the hotel’s property management system (PMS) and automation software was a top priority. After evaluating several smart lock solutions, Outland Hospitality chose 33 Lock’s IntelliMortise, which stood out for offering the most versatile access options, strong design, and ease of installation. 

The team handled installation in-house, retrofitting the property’s existing doors with the locks and using cover plates to conceal holes left by the previous hardware. Once installed, the 33 Lock system integrated seamlessly with the hotel’s PMS and RemoteLock setup, allowing access codes to be automatically generated and sent for each reservation.

“We love the ability to have PIN code, cards, fobs, and remote operation on the locks,” shared Daniel. “Having a flat touchscreen helps ensure buttons don’t get stuck, and the scrambled code helps guests who are having trouble with the code.”

‍With scrambled PIN codes, the lock still opens if a guest accidentally enters an extra digit before or after their correct access code, eliminating the need to start over. 

The Results

Today, The Parkman’s front desk still operates during set hours, but guest check-in no longer depends on it. Guests receive their access codes by email or text and can check in contactlessly at any hour. 

One of the biggest benefits has been accommodating after-hours reservations. When a guest makes a last-minute booking after the front desk closes, the system automatically generates and sends their access code, so the hotel can check them in remotely. Front desk hours no longer limit when The Parkman can sell a room. 

“This not only improves guest satisfaction, but allows us to capture more after-hours revenue.”

‍Staff have gained back valuable time that was previously spent managing keys. Waiting for late arrivals, arranging key handoffs, and collecting keys at check-out are eliminated from the daily workload. The team can also manage access to every room remotely.
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"Having the ability to check guests in and provide them access codes remotely is game-changing. We no longer have to wait on guests in order to provide them keys or use lockboxes for after-hours emergencies. Having smart locks that integrate directly with our PMS software is incredibly time-saving and helps improve our staff experience as well as our guest experience."
— Daniel Fletcher, Co-Founder, Outland Hospitality

Conclusion

The Parkman embodies what makes independent hospitality special, with a real sense of place and a stay guests remember. Behind that experience is a team whose time is now spent where it matters most, not on managing keys.

With 33 Lock’s IntelliMortise smart locks integrated into the hotel’s tech stack, access runs automatically. Daniel offers this advice to other independent properties: “Let the systems work for you and save your staff the time and effort of creating access codes. When the systems integrate, it helps everyone!”

‍The result is less time spent on access, more freedom for guests to arrive on their own schedule, and the ability to capture additional revenue after the front desk closes.