I work 2 weeks on 1 week off and mainly live out of hotels/ camps or couch surf with the family.  

You can do the repairs during the day while they aren't home or put them in a hotel while you do the repairs.

I would prefer raising money thorugh debt, but am now thinking it's probably more realistic that someone is going to want equity in the building (I think I prefer hotels over anything else.)Has anyone ever done something like this?

@Paul CaputoHey Paul, you might be confusing rental income with hotel-like activity such as Airbnb rentals. 

Me, it would cost several hundreds to fly out from LA, plus vacation time, plus car, plus hotel (I can't stay with my daughter, I'm allergic to that mutt of hers).

This is similar to hotel occupancy and will prevent having to sue for eviction in the case of a lease.

People who rent vacation homes aren't going to start using the hotels and motels, they'll find vacation homes in other locations. 

Patrick - The Blackstone group is a well oiled machine that participates in many different facits of real estate ranging from apartments to hotels and even mobile home parks.

In past recessions for example, self storage and mobile home parks did much better than for example hotels.

If you're looking to spend more, there's always wood-look ceramic tile which a lot of restaurants and hotels are using these days.If it's not a large area and you have a healthy budget, there's always oak.