In general, from my experience mom and pop landlords have historically kept rents very low for many reasons (convenience, compassion, not having a desire to make money).

Final thought: The 50% more profit from STR vs Long term rentals seems pretty glamorous...it’s like gambling at a casino and hitting 7’s....and then the dealer changes (regulation/inventory)There are over 2M STR listings in the US alone.

A 9/5 in Champions Gate is around the same price as a 6/4 in Windsor Hills right now.I will say that having stayed in the property while we've been working on it, with kids who we took to Disney, Windsor Hills is MUCH more convenient to Disney. 

It is too much of a gamble. 

Writing this to you from a set... haha  If you think film/tv will be your main clientele, then my suggestion is focus on what people are going to want for mid-term stays of weeks or months - washer/dryer in unit would be huge, we don't get much sleep or time to do basic chores, so any convenience along those lines is important!  

Extend on a month-to-month basis at the rate of #2 plus a 25% increase to the monthly rent.If you are going to extend them at their convenience, make them pay for it to reduce your risk of losses.

The contractor is advocating for what is convenient for them.

(basically being Certified), the selected contractor is basically 'winging it,' and you're probably taking a gamble. 

Make yourself unique, update your cabin, get creative and hang on….I admire your gamble of being leveraged in the smokies.

You can post transactions with memos, credits, download the csv file for everyone's convenience / record keeping is a BREEZE!!