Or am I focused on STR only because I think it will cash flow better?"

The house is rented as a STR on AirBNB for $600+/night and is totally separate of the horse farm part.

Investment Info:

Townhouse buy & hold investment in Carolina Beach.

Purchase price: $365,000

Cash invested: $22,000

Contributors:
Danielle Gillespie

Short Term Rental 1 Block from...

. - Channel Manager: Guesty - allows you to list your STR on multiple platforms (Airbnb, VRBO, etc.) and manage it all from one place.

What I want to know, is it really worth it to own a STR on the Big Island? 

--It's not a good idea to report an STR on Sch C instead of Sch E if there are no substantial services, even if there is a loss, as that would generally improperly reduce income subject to SE tax and mess with your calculated eligible contribution to an SE retirement plan. 

I am looking into buying a STR on Sanibel Island.

I just did this for an investor in NY for a 2.5 million dollar STR on Indian Rocks Beach and it grosses 400k per year.

I have 2 LTR in Maryville and considered trying STR on one but in the end I didn't want to spend the money to update and furnish it as I wasn't confident it would pay off. 

For instance, I just looked at Orlando FL and if I'm reading it right, it appears that they don't allow STR on residential (R) zoned districts.