The Casino was able to attract a lot of visitors from the Bay Area who would otherwise go to Reno or Lake Tahoe.

Just in case anyone is interested, STR do really well in the Joshua Tree area (45 minutes from Palm Springs area in the high desert) due to the national park (millions of visitors a year, celebrities, etc).

If you stick with a vacation area that gets a lot of visitors, you can succeed.

It seems like just the COA event visitors would not sustain a STR investment, but I could be wrong.

While I really enjoyed the towns of Camden and Rockland -- they frequently appear high in Maine visitor guides -- I preferred the Downeast region closer to Acadia. 

Some take some tweaking over time in areas and team members.  2 another reason is I invest in markets where I like to visit or have families. 

Our area receives 12+ million visitors annually so there are plenty of opportunities to capture those that don't have their hearts set on a log cabin.You are correct that the entry cost for condos is less than cabins.

To add, I recently visited Savannah and Tybee and had a great time as a visitor. 

In fact, I work with one investor who brought a property in Surprise to retire in and visit seasonally he is now looking for another property because his rental stays booked leaving him little room to enjoy it himself.Short-Term Rentals in the Surprise area bring visitors who are seeking the Phoenix International Raceway, Lake Pleasent, MLB Baseball Training camps, family, etc.

As you mentioned, you will pay a bit more but it may be a great deal doing no work and can get visitors asap.