Further, I don't trust other host reviews.  

I am definitely hosting at least 1 open house every weekend and that is actually how I found my first clients!

Occasionally I catch some cleanliness issued that I am not satisfied with which I believe is due to variability in attention to detail between people on their crew, or lack of training and familiarity with my property.I've seen mentions of the value of post cleaning pictures from hosts on other forums.

I was at host con and he was one of the speakers.

Correct me if I'm wrong but VRBO is very clunky and not very host friendly.

Including the cloud brokers like REAL and EXP Realty- all the brokerages I've researched so far require to join a local MLS & NAR.

Dalton,A multi LTR strategy sounds like a great play for 2025.i would suggest attending any and all REI meet ups in your area that you can find; my brokerage hosts a bunch of them up in the north east and it's been huge for our growth.i would also suggest finding an investor focused agent.

In Oceanside, New non-hosted STRs are prohibited outside of the Coastal Zone as of February 10, 2024.Most HOA's do not allow rentals less than 30 days so that is likely not an option unless you find a couple of places on the water that allow it but usually tough to find below $1M. 

More big name companies will join the STR industry and hosts who are not exceeding expectation will be weeded out by their money power.

There is a good one in the Stamford area hosted by Brandon Chisholm.