Just food for thought from a friend who owns a larger development company...

I paid that same day a manual payment through their portal system 1,028.11 (915.00 rent, 15 Utilities Setup, 30 Valet Trash, 5 pet control, 5 Packages, 25 monthly deposit, and 31.61 Pro-rated rent)  Click Pay... 

Go visit all the other new/newer buildings around there to see what amenities they offer like dog washes/automation/business centers/fitness centers/package lockers/etc and compare the rents.   

If oven, washer, dryer go out, I would pay them some money for during the week for food to eat out or laundromat, and then fix on the weekend.As you said you're in the learning phase.

@Andrew ThomasSorry you I was shift my focus from purchasing my personal residence to purchasing my first investment property as a realtor you should have access to a program called realist you can easily go in there and search for out-of-state or out of County owners one of the best ways to Market is handwritten envelopes it is almost a guaranteed open versus any other kind of marketing realist has so much information how long people have owned the property with their mortgages Etc I would also try to find as many wholesalers as possible and sign up for their list and look at how they are packaging their properties you will need to go and join some investment clubs a national Club you could potentially join is called Lifestyles Unlimited I'm sure the information they teach is also available on Bigger Pockets at the end of the day if you have a great deal you will always be able to find an investor for it

Have your agent throw a broker open (possibly with food) to get agents through and get feedback. 

They bring food and hats and other marketing materials.

Seasonal Strategies:Off-peak discounts or promotions: Offering longer-stay discounts or special packages for holidays or events in the off-season can help maintain occupancy.

Looking to purchase one and struggling with the right calculators to determine the real metrics.As I understand it (recently looked at buying a former bnb) you need to treat it like any other STR with your extra costs such as food, etc  baked in to the expenses.

If you brought your spouse and 2 kids with you, and you could argue all of your argue of your time on the trip was looking at real estate, and your personal business and activity circumstance defends being able to immediately deduct it and not treat it as a start up cost... likely 75% of much of the travel costs (airfare, food, etc) would be non-deductible.