Colorado vacation rental owners can breathe a sigh of relief. 

There are people there from all walks of life, people coming here on vacation, etc. and I have had luck marketing to them.

Yes it does, if they are not fired, and the reason for termination of employment is because of no work, it is not credited to me because of the reason that both me and the employee is not in control of the job that ended, CA has a point system that determines how much SUI (state unemployment insurance) rate you need to pay, a 1% difference of $100,000 in gross payroll is $1,000 (that is already my vacation fund!)

Not everyone needs to be so aggressive with their strategies for making the most from their STR and Vacation homes. 

STR that do the best have a target audience based on the the surrounding options that improve the vacation experience.

I met with them at a VRMA conference here in Branson and they have VA's that are trained in vacation rental management. 

I'm in the same boat as you - prefer higher end vacation rentals with quality finishes.  

I'm continuing to search for a vacation home that we can use list as a STR when we're not using it.

Are you planning to use this as a vacation home from time to time?

Like @Stuart Udis said, most of the time its more cost and time effective to do cash for keys and throw a few grand to hopefully vacate so you can change the locks.