The Modern Hotelier #93: Treehouse Resort & Offering Unique Travel Experience | with Amanda Jensen
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Steve Carran: Welcome back to another episode of Modern Hotelier. We're excited to release the episode with Amanda Jensen, the CEO and co founder of Sanctuary Treehouse Resort. David, what were some of your takeaways from this episode?
David Millili: Yeah, I loved it. I mean, the fact that they had this concept and then they got competitive and they were like, Hey, we want to be the biggest, not only the best. so I thought that was really cool. And I just think, it'd be probably be cool to be one of their kids growing up, witnessing this, concept and building it.
And she talks about how her family is involved in it. So I thought it was a really, really cool, cool location. 
Steve Carran: dream to stay at one of these places, except now they have, uh, where you can drop down bottles and glass or cans where you can drop it down to the lower levels. They have slides, they have pulley systems, you can raise and lower the bed. I mean, this is like my childhood dream.
Definitely am going to need to check this place out. but yeah, it was great. I loved hearing just how, you know, she said that, you know, The family aspect changed and you know they're still spending the quality time together. But now they're just building this tree house sanctuary and it's absolutely incredible.
And it seems like the kids are having a ton of fun with it too. So we're excited to release this and let us know what you think. 

David Millili: Welcome to The Modern Hotelier. I'm your host, David Millili.
Steve Carran: I'm your co host Steve Carran.
Jon Bumhoffer: And I'm the producer, Jon Bumhoffer.
David Millili: Steve, who do we have on the program today?
Steve Carran: Yeah, David, today we have on Amanda Jensen. Amanda is a CEO and co founder of Sanctuary Treehouse Resort. Sanctuary Treehouse Resort is the world's largest treehouse resort. Their mission is to transport you back to your childhood treehouse adventures by providing an immersive and playful experience within their treehouses.
Welcome to the show, Amanda.
Amanda Jensen: Thanks for having me. Thank you.
Steve Carran: to have you.
David Millili: All right, great. So we're going to go through four areas. We're going to do a lightning round. We're going to get to know some things about your background, your career, and then get into industry topics. Sound good?
Amanda Jensen: Sounds perfect to me.
David Millili: What was the first job you ever had?
Amanda Jensen: modeling, actually. Yeah, started modeling when I was 12.
David Millili: What's something that you wish you were better at?
Amanda Jensen: Singing.
David Millili: Did you have a role model growing up?
Amanda Jensen: Yes, my mom.
David Millili: What's a luxury that you cannot live without?
Amanda Jensen: Wi Fi.
David Millili: And where's a place you've never been to that you would most like to go? Maybe something on your bucket list.
Amanda Jensen: believe it or not.
David Millili: And if you had a late night talk show, who would your first guest be?
Amanda Jensen: Ah, probably Dr. Mabandla. 
David Millili: Now this is the last one. If you had a time machine and you could go to the future or the past, which way are you going and what year would you go to?
Amanda Jensen: Oh, gosh. Probably back to my childhood, like 1980s, 85, 
Steve Carran: Very nice. Very nice. Well, that was great. Now we're going to learn a little bit more about you and your background. So you grew up in Sevier County, Tennessee. Did I pronounce that right? And is that correct? 
Amanda Jensen: It's Sevier County and Brian's actually the local. I didn't grow up here. 
Steve Carran: did you grow up?
Amanda Jensen: Tybee Island, Georgia is home for me.
Steve Carran: Okay. How did growing up in Georgia shape you into who you are today?
Amanda Jensen: I don't know. I don't know much of how I even got here. It's, I'm still making sense of it. Uh, and same for Brian with all the different terms we made and, and, uh, I come from a social little island. Everyone knows everybody. And, um, you know, I would say that that's probably where I got my gregarious personality and ability to meet people and get along with anybody because that, that was the environment that I was raised in.
It was a small beach community. It 
David Millili: So we might have misstepped here, but, and so this might be what you've learned from Brian, but there was in 2016, there was a fire that went through Gatlinburg. And all that was left. And a lot of us saw it. I remember seeing it. There's just like a flag left. What, what, what was that? What was that like?
What was that? What was the story behind that?
Amanda Jensen: was devastating for our community and, um, definitely for our family as well. our main business that, that we've had in our family for over 60 years, but Brian We've owned it for probably 30 years, the Gatlinburg Sky Park, uh, we have a sky shop up there. And so, that business burned completely to the ground, and uh, we had to rebuild.
And um, it was a very, very sad time for our community. We lost some very valuable people, and their homes, and their pets, you know, and we all, we all did rise together, and, and we're, you know, we bounced back from it for the most part, but it was very, very difficult.
Steve Carran: There was a picture of a flag that was left over from the fire and that kind of, it almost seemed like it rallied the community and it was on the news and, you know, can you share a little bit more about the flag that was left behind after the fire and kind of what happened thereafter? 
Amanda Jensen: I love to tell this story. You know, right after the fires, for about a week, no one was, able to go up there. business owners, you know, nothing, they were, you know, doing rescue and, and just kind of getting through and checking things. So, all you had was the internet to try to find what, what, what's left of your business or your home.
so, our, our dear friend, Tina, was looking online and she saw where, some of the, um, The servicemen had found this flag and the picture from where they found it. And it was so profound and they had posted it and they said they had hung it in their barracks as, as, you know, kind of inspiration. So when she saw that, we knew exactly where it was.
It was from our, our flagpole at the top. of the Skypark, and um, she said, you know, I think that's great, you know, do you care if we have it back when you guys are done with it, and so they absolutely agreed to that, and when we did the reopening of our new shop up there, we ended up having those particular servicemen come up and dedicate that flag, and it hangs in our new shop.
Steve Carran: Awesome. And we'll have to put a picture of that. It, it, it almost reminded me of, uh, after the World Trade Centers where they were hoisting up the flag again. And it was this, uh, it was kind of this inspirational thing. Like, Hey, we, you know, we have bad things happen to us and, but we're not. We're not gone.
We're going to rebuild and come back stronger. So, just, just a really cool, really cool picture. So now kind of onto a lighter note. So you are more on the experiential travel side of with a treehouse resort. Did you travel or see anything through your travels that kind of inspired you to add something to your treehouse resort or a certain element or adventure to it?
Amanda Jensen: Yeah, so, our family travels a lot. of course, since we've opened the resort, it's, it's, you know, hit the brakes a little, um, because we're focused on trying to get everything as it should be and put the right people in place, take our place. but yeah, we, you know, in our travels, we were able to, you know, think about what, we What we would think is great in a staying accommodation, what we liked about each place we stayed from, you know, camping in our RV to hotels and resorts and, and we were able to incorporate all of those in, into our resort and a lot of people that own resorts around us are like, you're crazy for all the things you do. We would never do that. Because it's tedious or it's cost, you know, and things like that. I'm like, but these are the things that they love. You know, they don't, you can't get anywhere else and they don't expect it. And that's kind of what makes you shine. And still it's a, no, we would never do that, you know, kind of thing.
So, we stayed a lot of really cool places. We did stay, Brian had mentioned after we built our children's tree houses, tree house, pardon me. you know, people were starting to stay in them and he was like, you know, we should rent that out because the kids aren't playing in it anymore. And we didn't naturally, but I knew his little wheels were turning and he was talking about how, you know, it was becoming a thing.
And he was like, we should, we should build a few on our property. So I took him to stay at one in a neighboring state and I shouldn't have, I really shouldn't have, cause it just kept, I don't know, I thought it was sweet, but I didn't think about feeding that beast. and so, yeah, I just helped give him more ideas and things that we would do and we wouldn't do that they had done.
Just kind of several years later, here we are.
Steve Carran: I love that. I love that. Well, that was great. Now we're going to get a little bit more into your career. How have you gotten to where you are today? So your background was in the Federal Aviation Administration, helping program computers and marketing for fundraising companies. how does this experience kind of help you in your current role as a treehouse resort owner?
Amanda Jensen: again, uh, you know, I, I, with the particular position I had with the fundraising company, you know, I was out meeting people and, and talking to school districts and principals and coordinating efforts nationally, to put those programs together for the schools. so, definitely got a lot of computer experience, a lot of, um, experience with dealing with different types of people, and, and, and the kids, I would do promotions for the kids, and pep rallies and things, so, that was always a lot of fun.
As far as the Federal Aviation Administration, I, I did, uh, work a contract there for them for a while. I'm still the youngest person ever to work at the FAA at age 23. Uh, everyone thought I worked in the daycare or the credit union. They were all in my class for training, which was a fun day to see their faces.
But that gave me a lot of computer experience. Of course, the program that they, I don't even know if they use it anymore, that I used, it could be antiquated by now. You know how technology goes, but yeah, definitely got, I learned a lot up there. It was so fascinating to be up there and see the latest and everything and, and, uh, got a lot of computer experience there 
David Millili: So you and your husband also own the Gatlin Sky Center and you won the SCHA attraction of the year in 2019. Can you tell us more about the Sky Center and why people should stop by?
Amanda Jensen: Yeah, okay, so Gatlinburg Skylift Park is the oldest attraction in Gatlinburg. It, has been around forever. I don't know, 60 or more years. Um, after the fires, they came back bigger and better than ever. So they now have expanded. A whole new lift went in. there's now North America's largest suspension bridge.
It's up there and it has, you know, so many feet of glass in the middle. There's tulip towers, there's hiking trails, they just expand it and the views up there are like no other. absolutely just stunning and breathtaking and, and you can go up there and sit and take it in or you can do some of the many adventures that they have put up there now and there's more to come.
So it's definitely a bucket list item for a lot of people to come there and they're coming from all over the world just to, just to go on that bridge and go right up that mountain. It's really neat.
Steve Carran: That's awesome. So, in 2021, you and your husband Brian started the Sanctuary Treehouse Resort in the Smoky Mountains. it started, like you said, a treehouse just for your children. How did it grow into what it is today? And, you know, how did you, what was that final straw where you're like, okay, let's jump in and build a treehouse sanctuary?
Amanda Jensen: Well, I wouldn't use the word jump as much as, we were falling into it. So we, we kind of was thrown into, we were thrown into it and we're just holding on for the ride and it's been an experience. But, you know, original plan was just to build six to 10 on some of our property that's nearby our home and just throw them on the OTAs, Airbnb, VRBO, and see how it goes and just, you know, host some guests.
and then, this 40 acres that we have now, that the resort resides on, became available and again, we live close by. And we kept hearing that developers were going to scalp it and build big apartments or cabins and we didn't want to look at that by our neighborhood. So, we had to buy it. We drove the property.
I mean, we would go buy that for 20 or more years and never knew the views that it had. and so, we drove it and were just amazed at what you could see from there. The topography of the land and so we purchased it and then I, I kind of looked at Brian that day and I was like, what are we going to do with the 40 acres?
And he was already over there. I see his graph paper and his ruler and he's like, do me a, do me a favor. Look up who has the most tree houses right now. I know a lot of people are dabbling in it, but who has the most? And I'm like, okay. And this was, two years ago, so it could be different now. somebody in North Carolina has 17 and he said, so we're already going to be the world's first interactive tree house.
As soon as we get to 18, we'll be the world's largest. I'm like. What are you doing? You let me in on this. And I was a no. I was a no. I was like, I, you know, where's family time? You know, where's our travels? Where's, where's our life gonna go? and there was no talking to him. He sold me on the heartstring side of it.
You know, he was, he taped me on property tours and he was like, look, this is something we can do together with our kids. We can show them how to build something so unique for other people, and they can totally have part in this, and this could be another legacy for our family, and of course, got me there.
So, yeah, and then, it was still the plan just to build a few, and let them roll out, and they caught worldwide attention, so we started pre-marketing probably almost a year before the open date. And I had a rendering, and by the time we were opening, I had a lot of reservations in there waiting to come and I told Brian, I was like, you better do exactly what you said that we were going to build because all these folks are waiting and the media caught us and it was everywhere and so we, we really didn't expect it and that was very humbling and really helped get some attention to the resort and, and we've been just flying ever since with it. 
Steve Carran: That's awesome. 
David Millili: That's great. Do you, do you have, since opening, do you have a favorite memory? 
Amanda Jensen: There's lots of them there. maybe opening day, I did this to our staff and everybody in our community. Everyone wanted to come and then we had our guests coming in just a few days, but we hadn't shown it to the public yet. and of course the city wanted to do a ribbon cutting and all those things.
And so I did it all in one day. 
Coordinated it all. Come on, everybody just come on. I'm taking guests in three days. While it was a very, very mean thing for me to do to the staff here, we got it done. It was a great day. Uh, our mayor spoke. Some very prestigious, wonderful people in our community came out and spoke and showed their support.
And, uh, it was a really exciting day. A lot of smiles. 
Getting to see everyone's reaction. 
Steve Carran: That was great, Amanda. Now we're going to move into more of the industry thoughts side of this podcast. So, people are all about experiences these days. Experiential travel is one of the fastest types of travel, fastest growing types of travel.
You're a, like you said, you're an interactive resort. What types of experiences are you offering and do you have in your tree houses?
Amanda Jensen: They're so fun. so we have three different designs. We have our luxury, and then we have our tree fort, and then we have our tree fort doubles. The luxury is a little more, like, bougie, more for couples, so to speak, very up, upgraded in, in decor, full bidet toilet systems, swinging outdoor daybeds, inside soaking tub, outdoor soaking tub, very luxurious.
and then our tree forts are more the ones that have all of the features on them. They have 20 foot slides, escape hatches, rope climbs, swings, secret ladders, interactive furniture like our, beds that roll out. You can roll them out with a crank on the wall. the bunk beds roll up and there's a secret table with two chairs underneath for indoor seating or, a workspace.
I might leave an out, bucket pulleys, uh, the drink chutes. You can drop down any size can or bottle from the kitchenette inside to your lower deck. That's always nice. Find one. so they're, they're fantastic. That, and then the tree fort double is, is basically two tree forts and it's connected with a bridge.
So you can walk between the two. Those are great. They sleep up to 12. So as far as on, property, there's over four and a half miles of walking trails and we are now, uh, putting together a scavenger hunt for, um, so that when kids come, we've got a map and they've got compasses that we'll leave them and they can adventure there.
And future plans include, the enchanted forest. And there's some secrets there. but we're trying to not do what's been done to death here. So, we won't have hot tubs or pools. I mean, you know, it's just, we're, we're just wanting to do something different. We're going to build in ground hot springs, that are community.
Um, so it's just, whatever has not been done is what we're spending our time doing here. And people are loving it. And they, you know, they're like, why would we have any other amenities? They're all on our tree house and they get here and they don't want to leave. They're mad they bought tickets to go see stuff.
The kids are crying. Or they go out into the community, which we try to encourage them to, and they're like, all day long, everyone just wanted to go back to the treehouse. And we love that, but also we hate it for them because they've, you know, planned to go all these places. And, you know, they're like, well, we'll just come back and we'll only stay here.
And then there's those that know they came here specifically for that treehouse. 
David Millili: Well, that's a great segue because you have on your website a page dedicated to things to do in the area. which as a ex hotelier, I love that because I always talk about, you know, there's your property, but there's also, you know, So, you know, other things, unlike your property, it's, which sounds like you don't have to leave.
There's a lot of properties where it is always good to get a break. So why was it important for you to partner with local companies and what type of benefits have you seen from that?
Amanda Jensen: So that's called our sanctuary perk card. And as we were trying to navigate, you know, getting open and building, I had, people already making their plans. The ones that had reservations asking us, where, where do we go? What, where do we eat? You know, what do we do? And then I had our businesses in the area.
A lot of people that, you know, it's a tight community here. A lot of them are friends of ours that own businesses or just ones that heard about our resort and really wanted to talk to our guests. So it, it occurred to me, I could just throw this together. I was like, all right, I'll make some rules for it.
So I, I will pick our favorite businesses and I won't have five of your kind of business on there, but you in turn have to provide a very unique discount to our guests and we will offer that to them. So it's completely complimentary and there's a little bit of everything. There's shows, restaurants, shopping tours, helicopter tours, adventures like Tennessee Silencer where you can go shoot high powered rifles off the top of a Humvee.
That is so freaking cool. Everyone loves that, you know, pink jeep tours, Soaky Mountain Waterpark is right next door if anybody wants to swim. Our guests get half off there. They love it. It's complimentary. Once they book with us, that's one of the things that we learned through our own travels is that we don't want to be nickel and dimed to death once we've booked somewhere.
They never touch their wallets. As a matter of fact, we save them money. So that that's all there for them and available if they want to use it in their planning.
Steve Carran: that's incredible. So something that, you know, we hear a lot about is sustainability. You're obviously a treehouse resort, how do you keep sustainability in mind when you're, you know, especially now as you're growing, how are you kind of preserving the trees and, you know, still growing?
Amanda Jensen: So, one of the reasons we wanted to purchase this property is to preserve the topography of the land because we have a vested interest in that area, we live nearby. and so, with building, it's kind of like stadium seating. You know, we're on a slant. So, what we have worked out that, and why we can go to 130, is we can build within the topography of the land.
We do not remove any tree. if it's dead or fallen, we will, you know, remove it, but everything has been placed strategically amongst the property to preserve every bit of the trees that we can and the nature that lives there. We have lots of nature, uh, bears and deers and, turkeys and, um, our two bald eagles.
They, they are show offs for our guests. so yeah, absolutely. We do everything we can to maintain that, be a good steward of the shared space.
David Millili: And so, I mean, obviously your property is different. It's all about experiences. What advice Would you give to someone who was looking to do maybe not exactly what you did, but just to to take that leap and to get involved in creating a destination within a destination?
Amanda Jensen: Careful what you promise. Make sure it's something you can do. And, you know, in our case, we, didn't promise and we knew we could deliver, but, it's a scary thing to go out on your own, especially to do something that no one, has done because you have nothing to compare to and so you, you, you got to have the answers or go find them. So yeah, while it might be scary, it can be really fun. And it has been a really fun adventure when we look back, even on the days that I might be pitching a fit because I didn't want to work that hard. They turned out to be mostly smiles and And just being able to see their reward when when we meet our guests is Just affirmation every time. So while it is hard work and it can be discouraging at times, cause there's a lot of things you don't know that you have to figure out. It's an uncomfortable situation in the end. It's, worth it.
Steve Carran: I love that. So now we're almost done here, but we've been asking you questions this whole time. We're going to turn the tables and we're going to let you ask us a question, before you head out here.
Amanda Jensen: Okay. So I think I know a little bit, but tell me a little history of, of your podcasts and who you like to interview. What, what you guys do a little 
Steve Carran: Yeah. David, we got a self plug here. You want to take this one away?
David Millili: Yeah. So, I mean, we, uh, History of this podcast is I was advising a company and Steve was working for that company as head of sales. They were from India trying to get some more exposure in the U S. So I had said, I think, why don't we do a podcast? I've been in the industry a long time. I can get us some guests.
I want to do it with Steve. So that way, in case I leave or something happens, you have some continuity and an actual employee involved. We were fortunate enough. We were able to purchase. The podcast has that company refocused on India. And, uh, we've just tried to be more about, quality, getting quality guests, making sure that we're asking you the right questions.
And, uh, it's, it's been a lot of fun, but for us, it's always, you know, our podcast is more about the guests than us, so it's always interesting to meet people like you and kind of just hear their story. And Steve and I both obviously love hospitality, so it's, it's always cool to learn new things. 
Steve Carran: now we have our producer, Jon. he's been listening the whole time. He is going to ask you one final question before we get you out of
here. 
Amanda Jensen: dun.
dun. 
Jon Bumhoffer: Yeah. It might be a scary one. Uh, no. you talked a lot about like starting this and, you know, where's the family time, but it's also an asset, you know, legacy piece for your family. I'm curious. I want you to touch on that. And like now looking back, you know, what, what has, what has, been the impact on your family, your kids?
What do they think of the whole thing? And, and like, just how has that played out?
Amanda Jensen: Yeah, so, we have had a lot more family time just not doing the things we did before, uh, . 
Um, so, you know, we, they have, they are very much participants in it, all four of our children, in every way they can with their talents. and you know, for instance, our 18-year-old daughter who's about to leave for college, IU use her art where I can to do the themes on each one, and that's just wonderful.
She's done original murals in there and things like that, and people love it. She'll hide Easter eggs. so for joining us today, and we will see you next time. Can backhoes, I mean, anything she's been, she, she's like, I'll dig the holes. So legitimately I, there you might see a 10-year-old with a hard hat on digging a hole if you're our way, which is great.
I mean, everybody's gotta have their thing. But, so no, while we have been together, and this has been very different for our family, it's, it's been very rewarding and I think even on days that they might have questioned why we're doing this. they meet the guests too, and we go hang out with them and, and they make friends.
I mean, we've had people come here from Hong Kong, Brazil, a ton of people from the UK. and they're just fascinating. I mean, everybody has their story. And so a lot of times we'll get done with dinner at the house and we're like, let's go, let's go hang out and see what the guests are doing. and sometimes they're all commingling at our outdoor community kitchen.
And of course we always have to remind them we have to work tomorrow. We're not on vacation. So they get invited to the cookouts and stuff, and it's so hard not to just want to stay and be on vacation with them. But yeah, so it's actually been a, you know, it's been rewarding. It's the best word to use.
David Millili: well, that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier. Amanda, this is where you get to let people know how to get to the resort, Sanctuary Tree House, how people can get in touch with you, so you can plug away right now.
Amanda Jensen: Okay. Oh, by the way, we're going to be on Hotel Incredible. That's coming out in August.
You guys know about that. They came and filmed an episode with us as well. And we're up for some other award, but the city won't tell me what it is.
So that's something for you too. But anyway, anyway, back to this. If you'd like to reach out to us, you can find us on the web at TreehouseResort. com We're also on all the social platforms if you want to take a look at it there. Or you can reach out to us at 423 TREE FUN or hello at TreehouseResort. com
David Millili: Well, that does it for another episode of The Modern Hotelier. So whether you're watching or listening, we appreciate you and we hope to be with you again soon. Thank you so much, Amanda.
Amanda Jensen: Thank you for having me guys.