EXHIBIT 31.1

                                 CERTIFICATIONS

I, Colin V. Reed, certify that:

1.       I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Gaylord
         Entertainment Company;

2.       Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue
         statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
         necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
         under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
         the period covered by this report;

3.       Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
         information included in this report, fairly present in all material
         respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows
         of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this
         report;

4.       The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for
         establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
         defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal
         control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
         13a-15(f) and 15d-15 (f)) for the registrant and have:

         a)       Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
                  such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under
                  our supervision, to ensure that material information relating
                  to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries,
                  is made known to us by others within those entities,
                  particularly during the period in which this report is being
                  prepared;

         b)       Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
                  caused such internal control over financial reporting to be
                  designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable
                  assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
                  and the preparation of financial statements for external
                  purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
                  principles;

         c)       Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure
                  controls and procedures and presented in this report our
                  conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
                  controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered
                  by this report based on such evaluation; and

         d)       Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's
                  internal control over financial reporting that occurred
                  during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the
                  registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual
                  report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely
                  to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over
                  financial reporting; and

5.       The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed,
         based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial
         reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of
         registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
         functions):

a)       All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
         operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
         reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to
         record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b)       Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other
         employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
         control over financial reporting.

Date: March 26, 2004




                                   By /s/ Colin V. Reed
                                      -------------------------------
                                   Name: Colin V. Reed
                                   Title: President and Chief Executive Officer