My wife and I run an AirBnB listing out of our casita at the front of our house. It's our version of house hacking.
So many of our experiences exactly echo yours. We have 119 reviews, 92% Five Star reviews.
Our casita is appointed very much like a nice hotel room. Bed, desk, TV, coffee maker, small fridge and microwave. We have just included everything that we thought we might need when traveling with family or on business. In the process of deciding if we want to replace the bed frame and flooring. Currently carpet and it's starting to look a little dingy, we'd like to go with Pergo.
It probably takes us no more than two hours per month to host, more if we have to clean, but we hired a cleaning lady who does it for $40 and it takes her about 45 minutes to clean.
We've looked into buying a condo somewhere to convert to a short term rental, but we're leaning more towards long term at this time. Too many variables with neighbors, HOAs, city/county regulations, etc.