Alexandra
My wife and I are also from Ontario. Actually I grew up not far from Lincoln. We currently have an AirBnb in Costa Rica. We had a hotel in San Jose before that. You are correct that there are a lot of places to stay in Costa Rica. Most are in clusters in areas that are well travelled by tourists. Owning and renting while living in Canada I think complicates issues as you need to rely on too many other people. There are still ways to grow a bed and breakfast but it would be through finding a niche market. The locals are in to Airbnb big time but most of the offerings, although cheaper, are quite basic, at least in our area.
Because my wife lives in CR year round, we are trying to grow through networking and exploring different niche markets as opposed to just putting up a shingle and hoping people book with us.
Covid put quite a dent in that but we are exploring some leads.
One thing I would like to do is connect with a group of hosts in different areas of the country and build a network where a guest can travel this network, and see the sights. Referrals would boost the business and keep the quality of the product high.
David