At the end of the day though, you still couldn't operate a car well by just reading about it.

Regulation has slowed the market and made it harder to be an operator.I've never operated my Airbnb to its maximum efficiency because of the time it takes. 

Maybe syndications but some of them aren't doing well and if they don't know how to vet the operator, seems very risky. 

However, I recommend buying first and running a fully operational short-term rental business first or passing it to a PM company.

Partner with a friend to protect both interests, create an Operating Agreement, and focus on saving and preparing for the down payment and reserves.

which entity claimed the operating deductions and which entity claimed the depreciation?  

It simply states that 50% of the annual income will be taken up by operating expenses.

Bottom line, if you're operating as a business you should be keeping business and personal completely separate.

I typically operate within the residential space and have a few rentals.

Have you considered the potential of utilizing the "asset island" method for primary ownership of properties, and than via NNN master lease to individual operating LLC's for business monetization use?