If you don't meet that 12 month seasoning requirement and/or want to hold the property under an LLC, a debt service loan may be a better option.

We’ve found a great option for us in Tennessee with a cabin (currently used as a str) and a mobile home.

Steadily does not offer insurance in Florida

And maybe @David Krulac has some further ideas to offer ...

Start talking to lenders now, but wait to get pre-approved until you have a job offer with a firm start date.

Any insight into the kind of options we may have for something like this and how qualification for a small hotel differs from residential conventional loans would be extremely helpful.

If they need access to the property immediately, you can offer to leave to them until you are ready to close. 

Fairbanks offers a unique market with its own set of considerations.

Assuming you go the HELOC route, another option to reduce your costs assuming you have decent credit is to look at credit card balance transfer promotions.Back in 2003-2004 I had HELOCs on my investment properties and interest rates were increasing.

The city offers a mix of high appreciation potential in certain areas and solid cash flow in others.