Ep 58 - Leaving Airbnb Behind: David Speirs on Booking.com, Family Hosting, and Haven Retreats in Adelaide

About this episode

David Speirs discusses his transition from Airbnb to Booking.com and running short-term rentals as a family business.

In this episode, Ray and Silvia are joined by David Speirs, an Adelaide-based property investor and former Airbnb superhost who now runs two short-term rentals as a family business under the Haven Retreats brand. The episode opens with Ray's candid update on joining the Guesty multi-channel platform and the unexpected cash flow trade-offs. David then shares why he walked away from Airbnb entirely in favour of Booking.com and direct bookings, and the lessons he's learned along the way. In This Episode, We Cover: Ray's experience with Guesty: more channels, more exposure, but a slower monthly payout cycle Why David chose Lodgify for direct bookings across Booking.com, Airbnb and VRBO Designing a family home with a self-contained downstairs apartment as a revenue stream Running short-term rentals as a true family operation, with cleaning, hosting and admin shared between siblings and mum Why David left Airbnb despite a 4.9 superhost rating — including the water leak and bar-of-soap reviews that pushed him over the edge How Booking.com compares: fewer reviews, less guest chat, and 90%+ occupancy on his Brighton property The Middleton Shack story: a retro 1960s surf shack, 2,500…

People in this episode

Hosts: Ray Yee, Silvia

Guest: David Speirs

Topics covered

• Airbnb
• Booking.com
• short-term rentals
• family business
• property investment
• social media marketing

Keywords

• Airbnb superhost
• Booking.com
• Haven Retreats
• short-term rentals
• family hosting
• property investment
• social media tips

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Guesty, Booking.com, Lodgify, Airbnb, VRBO, Still Aware, Friends of Osprey

Places: Adelaide, Brighton, Middleton Shack

More episodes of Superhosts Down Under with Silvia and Ray

• Ep 59 - 18 Years of Hosting, 5-Star Standards, and the Ultra-Personal Model with Geoff Gedge · May 31, 2026 · 46 min
• Ep 57 - From Five-Star Hotels to Global Publishing: Jodie Odlin's Hosting Empire · May 3, 2026 · 57 min
• Ep 56 - From Separation to Superhost: Jenny’s Airbnb Journey · April 19, 2026 · 57 min
• Ep 55 - The Arbitrage Edge: Building a Multi-Property Portfolio with Siblings Eloi & Emiie · March 22, 2026 · 45 min
• Ep 54 - Scaling with a Personal Touch with Elena Stepanova · March 8, 2026 · 44 min
• Ep 53 - Lifestyle Hosting: Funding Travel From a One-Bedroom in Melbourne · February 22, 2026 · 43 min