My property is located in a C+/B- neighborhood has the following landmarks nearby: -1.5 miles from a major university with a popular D1 NCAA college basketball team-1.5 miles from a children's museum-1.5 miles from an art and nature museum-1.5 miles from a beautiful nature parkIt's the dead of winter, and I'm wondering who I can market and how I can best market my property to on Airbnb. 

Licensed contractors have more of their "shtuff" together and thus are better at their job and naturally will cost more.

Any comment made about a positive experience with him has been from an account with little to no information in it, or of some other suspicious nature.

You should have a good idea of every expense you have in your primary home, then add the STR specific:  (These are rough estimate numbers, depending on various factors)STR insurance - a special insurance that covers both the property and your liability, could be $2~4k in areas without natural disasters, could be more than $10k in some other areas.cleaning fee - approx. $50 per bedroom, so a 4-bedroom house will cost you about $150~200consumables - bathroom supplies, kitchen supplies, beverage supplies: $20~30 per week, depending on how much you providewear and tear - towels, linen, kitchen utensils, some furniture: $1000~2000 per yearRepairs/replacement for things that guests break or steal:  $1000~2000 per yearAlso, if your personal use is less than 14 days a year, the entire property's expense is deductible against STR income, but if you use more than 14 days, then you will have to calculate the proportion of how many days it's rented out vs how many days you or your family uses. 

Human nature is fallible and any business that exists out there is run by humans.

There are many more and many more personal goals such as getting married and starting a family, adopting my first GSP dog, traveling to Wyoming and Montana and spending more time in nature, just to share a few.

I like Texas for the economic outlook and less natural disasters but I may be biased!

If there is any kind of damage to the house because of a natural cause if you approach the insurance company without a landlord's insurance they will outright deny your claim.If you have a mortgage the bank will insist that you have landlord insuranceTenant has renter's insurance.

Heating costs go up in winter, as does electricity due to the reduced natural light and more people indoors.

These costs for most of the individuals are considered personal in nature (unless you have a RE portfolio that is run like a business; see below).