While both involve finding and properly securing a site and bringing it to full entitlement, the ground-up process includes the land piece but gets way more involved and complex to execute.The full "Monty" for ground-up development needs to include financial literacy, an explanation of metrics, and how they work.

The backyard has a full outdoor kitchen, hot tub and a pool but... 

I would be a lot better off had I left my job sooner and did real estate investing full time.

(Not that it's likely to be worth a legal fight I would guess.)

Offer to give them their full deposit in cash on move-out day, if they leave the place clean and empty, etc.  

BiggerPockets is full of resources designed to help you along your journey, whether you are just getting started or a seasoned investor.

When January comes, you will have two disadvantages:- you will have missed on the end-of-year planning opportunities- some of the most highly sought after professionals will be full and not taking clients anymoreAnd the longer you wait, the fewer choices you will have. 

I could see fully comping 1-2 nights at low season rates, particularly if one doesn't have a lot of reviews yet, but would you, as an established host with tons of reviews, comp a full week or more of a prime season stay? 

My favorite was a hoarder house full of trash that took me six months to turn around, but it turned into a killer deal that earned me a 600% return.

About two cubes are full of games.