The reason I was able and willing to offer more than my competitors was I had the local builder in my back pocket that had already done the feasibility survey.

Not a lot of our competitors offer this but it's something we can consider (but for us, it can't be in a rural area, the loan amount must exceed $150k, if we're using PadSplit income (or STR/MTR income) the max LTV is 75% and the down payment must come from your own funds). 

In many ways that is a ridiculous claim that I would guess a competitor started.

You know who your competitors are, so I don't need to name them. 

What I do gain is being able to place tenants much faster than my competitors who simply follow a mold. 

The real competitor of ATM is bank branch, in terms of withdrawing cash.

Keep your prices just a hair lower than your competitors for the first month or two until you get some good reviews, then raise them to market rate.

Greatest thing about these platforms (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.) is the you get to see all your competitors, their pictures, amenities, pricing, etc. 

Agree , those are all incredibly important as is good property management and the ability to price the property correctly based on your competitors rates( dynamic pricing ) . 

I spent around 12K with his competitor over the course of 10 months and got nothing but frustration to show for it...