Anyone successfully financing short term rentals with specialized lenders instead of traditional banks?

I’m looking to get into short term rental investing and I’ve been researching markets in Washington and Oregon. My plan is to buy a 3–4 bedroom house near a popular lake or mountain area, furnish it nicely, and list it on Airbnb and VRBO. I’m estimating I can pull in $4,500–$6,000/month in gross revenue during peak season based on comparable properties in the area.

The biggest hurdle right now is financing. Traditional banks are tough on short term rental properties because they treat them like second homes or require strong personal income. I recently found short term rental loans through Host Financial and the terms look much more realistic for investors. They seem to focus specifically on this asset class with faster closings and more flexible qualification based on the property’s projected cash flow rather than just your W-2 income.

I’m still early in the process and trying to decide if this route makes sense or if I should keep looking at conventional options. For those of you who have financed short term rentals, did you use a specialized lender like this? How was the approval process and what kind of down payment and credit score did they actually require? Any lessons learned or pitfalls I should watch out for?