I would trade the 7.5% I am chasing with my "barbell strategy" (of 40-45% commercial real estate syndications) for a 17.5% return gained in active investing.

Gather emails with something like Stayfi, use a qr code to have guests follow you on socials or leave their emails in a sign up for discounts coming back, use a Meta Pixel on your direct booking website or landing page and then do a retarget ad campaign to them, offer "Family and Friends" promo codes to guests when they come back through an auto message a couple of weeks after they have left, etc. are some that I use.  

Become active.

I have down an owner financed deal in 2024 and still actively use a HELOC in support of my flipping.  

Two thoughts - 1) We have seen the Blue areas become much more regulatory, as we would expect from that mindset...but yes, I gotta agree, I think it does cross the line in this case. 2) Not all neighborhoods resent STRs. 2 of my STRs were in neighborhoods where they were actively welcomed.

I’m also an active member of the local landlord association in Joliet (JRLA), which has been a great resource for networking and education.

He's very active and knows the market quite well.

The "online leads" trend becomes a vast pool of scams, each one discovering a new and "better" way to find motivated sellers via SEO/Paid adds/Social Media etc, and automatically aims to make a profit from selling those so-called leads.

You need to actively talk to people about what you are doing, ask them for referrals to others that might be interested. 

My best advice is to align with an active sponsor in a role that embraces your skill set.