I could do that today. Back as early as 2008 I used to own
www.rentmyrv.ca and rented my trailer out many times. Made a lot of money on it at the time. This was long before the modern day rental agencies like RVEzy.com and such existed.
But you can roll-your-own as much as you want, ultimately you may still struggle for exposure. When someone wants a getaway their mind may go straight to AirBNB. Googling things (using the right keywords to hit your website) or checking Kijiji for an ad with a link may not often be first and foremost in mind for them.
It'a also important to remember that these third party rental companies like AirBNB and RVEzy etc also do typically offer some level of protections and insurance policies for both the renter and the owner, so there are benefits.
We stayed in 2 different AirBNB lodges this past summer, both very clearly had third parties who came in at arrival and departure (to turn things over) who were not the owner. Many people have arrangements with a local person for this - either getting paid (a lot of Airbnb's do have cleaning surcharges) or in exchange for actual time using the facility itself.
But I would like to have them close so I can tend to things when necessary, and the kind of thing I'm looking at is minimal upkeep anyways.
As for financing being an issue, yeah, banks may not be super excited about it, but when you aren't looking for insane money to begin with and have a paid off house you're willing to use as collatteral, well, I'm pretty sure there will be a bank somewhere willing to work with you.
You laugh, but a LOT of the Yurt experiences are in the $150-$200/night range. Toss in some "cool" things like an outdoor shower and solar lighting (to get the eco nut crowd) and a fire pit with some muskoka chairs and boom, you're booked solid.
I wouldn't want any neighbours. My thought is "chunk of property in the woods somewhere", with the only reason for anyone to go there is to go in and out of the the AirBNB.
I'm also pretty savvy with a lot of DIY. If hydro can't be brought into the property...Setting up things like solar systems, basic low voltage electrical, and even some cellular internet setup that would allow basic interaction with the property for things like remote door locks and occupancy sensors, perhaps even a camera that oversees the property as a whole etc etc...easy peasy for me. If hydro can be brought in, even better.
Yeah, I'd just pay for some of it - would want a well and septic, I'd farm that out to the pros of course. Actually plumbing things to and from that though? I can do that.
Lots to think about.