As far as a general STR strategy, a nice 3x2 house within an hour of a major attraction is not too much to manage and can drive a nice nightly rate if you go with high end design. 

HMLs offer quick funding, but keep in mind the higher interest rates (8% to 18%) and shorter repayment terms (6-18 months).

Just a quick follow up to @Christie Gahan's comment: ** Yes, Long term capital gains are taxed at lower rates, but it isn't as simple as the first $500K of gains are taxed at 15% -- rather, the 15% bracket will account for your total income from all sources. 

@Yael FuerstIf they are rentals you could get a DSCR loan.If the loan you get is lower interest rate than the current loan amount then it makes sense to do thatFor example if your debt is 10% and a DSCR loan is 7%, then pay the lower interestHope that makes sense

Their labor rates are way below market rates so don't expect any big name established company to show up. 

Recognize market trends, rental rates, and property prices.

@Ethan Swat have you done the math to calculate the increased booking volume or higher booking rate is required to break-even on the investment?

When interest rates were lower there were more deals to be had and cashflow was solid with even a moderate down payment.

Arguably, a PM company is going to have these trades available at a cheaper rate (theoretically) due to scale, but the PM company is also probably going to mark it up, so it ends up costing about the same.

The IRS still doesn't like "short term" 1031s, with good reason - you need to ensure that you can 100% support that it was not a flip.This was not uncommon during 2020-2022 when prices were increasing at an incredible rate, I did have a few clients where they acquired a property that was truly intended to be a rental property, had a long history of buy / renovate / hold rentals, and then the market just blew up so fast that it changed the investment analysis for that property, or in several cases they actually just received unsolicited offers that they couldn't refuse.