There is much more competition for the smaller homes as hotels, condotels, condos, townhomes and small single family are all competing for the same guests.

Posting on random/obscure booking sites will probably only account for 1% of overall bookings. and the vast majority will come from the big players (Airbnb, VRBO, etc). 

For example, you can have someone sign a non-compete agreement in California but it does not mean its legal.

You will usually not get a good enough deal, and you will be competing in the purchase against retail buyers, especially in today's market. 

This is who you are competing with sometimes

Also you have to constantly look for customers and you competing with highly competitive hard money lenders.Lendng under $50k is great idea because most HML don't do loans less then 100k.So I found that traditional real estate is much more passive and easier but I still be interested in private lending on a deal to deal basis I such deal falls into my inbox and it passes all check and balances. 

In my area it's a mix of boutique local commercial shops and the big national players. 

Yes, in theory those would be more expensive, but if I'm one of the first to buy and two years goes by and I need to sell, I'm now competing against brand news homes in my development.

@Trenton Pelloquin There are certainly benefits to QBO, including the fact that many in the industry players are using it, which could facilitate delegation of bookkeeping activities and tax preparation. 

Agency loans are NOT investor friendly; never have been, never will be.STRs are another great example of a niche that wholesale lenders just can't compete.