Our Philosophy
As a company, we apply Biblical principles to the world of technology in order to help our customers and our team innovate and grow. We care about our customers and want them to succeed. We do what we say we’re going to do. We work hard. We treat our team well. We grow without borrowing money. With BrightSide, we help businesses in the hospitality industry innovate and grow by providing software to help them get more bookings and save time managing their rental properties.
Our History
The foundation of BrightSide was laid back in the late 1990’s. Charles Hawkins created a software package called “Rental Management” for some of the first short term rental agencies in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. In 2003, Charles and his eldest son, Emmett, rewrote the software as a web-based application titled “RM4.” After this update, RM4 started gaining traction in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area. In 2006, Emmett formed Hawkins Computer Services, and was joined a year later by his brother Raymond.
In 2015, we launched a new version on a new technology stack and renamed the software “BrightSide Rental Management.” Our very first client is still with us, and some of the early adopters continue to affectionately refer to us as “RM4.”
In 2024, “BrightSide Rental Management” became “BrightSide.”
Our Team
BrightSide is a division of Hawkins Computer Services, LLC, a privately held company owned by brothers Emmett and Raymond Hawkins. Our offices are located in Maryville, Tennessee and Panama City Beach, Florida. Emmett oversees the Florida office and our team of BrightSide developers and support staff. Raymond oversees the Tennessee office and Ankerpoint Marketing, the division of our company dedicated to helping clients grow their businesses through advertising, beautiful websites, SEO, social media management, and more.
Whether you manage one property or a thousand, BrightSide is here to provide the best support in the industry. When other companies use AI and their knowledge base masquerading as support, we prefer to help our clients the old fashioned way, with human contact and communication.
