People can smell commission breath.

It's basically built on top of WordPress core and they made it simple and easy to navigate.Where in wordpress, you have to get some plugins (some are also monthly paid) to achieve the same kind of functionality.As @Todd Heitner mentioned, SEO is not just about having a good hosting/platform and features, it's about utilizing the features in a way so your brand has visibility and people that come into your website gets proper value of their time spent.Here's a table comparison for you that I wrote earlier:Now whether you have a carrot or a wordpress site, for SEO, you will need:- Website Credibility (Personalisation)- On Page SEO (Keywords, Titles, Meta Tags, Description, Image ALT Tags & Optimization etc)- Monthly Content Publishing (Regular Blogs & Location Pages)- Monthly OFF Page SEO (Citations, BacklinksNow if you consider the cost, end of the day it's quite same for both the platforms.But if you are starting fresh, I see no point of having their 180$ plan, you can continue with 89$/month plan from carrot and assign someone in your team to put regular blog posts and update the location pages.

Knowing the rent will likely show up each month—even if the tenant has challenges—removes a lot of the uncertainty that can come with rentals.The people listing this apartment as a “Section 8 property” are likely trying to target buyers who value that stability.

I finished my business plan finally recently.

Thanks Ryan Dossey I also like to see the before and after pics that people are willing to share. 

Just my personal opinion - get a mentor or a person who already has good experience running STR business, preferably in your area (but not 100% required). 

Try talking to local banks who want to do business with you.

When I go to events like this, I do go to some of the sessions, but most of my time is just sitting in the lobby chatting with people. 

you are going up against people and companies that spend thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars a month in marketing. 

Lots of posts on different companies so be sure to check out what people have said about vendors you are considering doing business with.