Yeah, that lack of startup capital is why I'm not doing it already. A bunch of us are saving to pool money together to self-finance. You can also just start with a couple of nice trailers (which you wouldn't be able to charge as much for, of course) and gradually work towards full cottages. Some cottages in areas I frequent around here are just trailers and are still going for like $300 CAD a night in the middle of September.

At least insurance should protect you against total loss?