I'm concerned with being hit with a lot of "unexpected" costs as the project starts.Any advice would be appreciated.

Unless Quickbooks has addressed the issue does not have a specific real estate module so you have to work around it using customers as properties and jobs as tenants.

However, a lot of concerns can be mitigated with looking at their past rental behavior in a lot of different settings.

As someone actively investing in STRs and looking to scale, this raises some concerns for me about the long-term viability of this strategy.I understand the tension between hotels and STRs, especially in popular tourist destinations, but I’m curious:How real is this threat?

A global trade war is seen as the biggest observable risk for 2025, followed by a tech stock plunge and concerns over inflation and bond yields14.

Consider all the things that could go wrong and see if the lease addresses them: unauthorized pets or tenants, early termination, security deposit, lease violations, late rent, eviction, lawn maintenance, parking, etc.5.

But i heard that there's scammers who prey on new listing discounts to try to take advantage of new hosts.. is this something I should be concerned about?

There are lots of vetting processes and details that need to be addressed before handing over the keys. too late now. 

If you don't like your current PMC, analyze specifically WHY and then go interview others and find out how they will address your current issues.

Would you mind sharing how you addressed the transition period in your contract?