Salt at Shoal Bay
INTERVIEW SERIES | BEHIND THE BUCKET LIST STAYS
There are two types of travellers…
Those who choose a destination and then find somewhere to stay.
And those who choose the stay first, because the accommodation itself becomes part of the experience.
We call those stays Bucket List Stays.
We’re kicking off a new series called Behind the Bucket List Stay, where we’ll be interviewing hosts, designers and owners behind some of the most thoughtful and experience led holiday homes we know.
And to begin, it only felt right to start by sharing a little of our own story.
Over the years, we’ve been asked so many thoughtful questions about Salt at Shoal Bay. Questions about design, hosting, guest experience, storytelling, operations, and what actually makes a stay memorable. So we thought we’d finally create a space to share those conversations.
Because long before Hostable existed, Salt became the testing ground for so many of the ideas we now teach around experience led hosting. The small details that shape how a stay feels. The systems behind the scenes that make a property sustainable long term. And the belief that the most memorable stays are the ones designed to be truly felt, not just slept in.
Q: How did Salt at Shoal Bay first come about?
Before Salt, we’d spent a little over five years renovating and flipping houses. We loved the creative side of renovating, but with two young kids at the time, we realised pretty quickly it probably wasn’t a sustainable long term path for us. We’d built up some capital through renovating and decided our next investment needed to be something that could generate income, slowly pay itself off over time, and continue growing in value.
Around that same time, we started travelling more as a family to places like Byron Bay, where boutique holiday stays were everywhere. It completely changed the way we travelled. We had this growing list of bucket list stays we wanted to experience purely because of how thoughtful and memorable they felt. They blurred the lines between hotel and holiday home, layered with local art, thoughtful details and a real connection to the location around them.
We both grew up in Port Stephens and still have family there, and we kept thinking what an incredible place it was. The water looks like the Whitsundays, the huge headlands almost feel Hawaiian, but at the time there really weren’t many boutique luxury holiday properties focused on the guest experience.
Then one day while visiting Michael’s nanna at the retirement village nearby, we stumbled across the property. The views were breathtaking, and honestly, they still are. We immediately knew we could create something really special there. A truly experience led stay.
Q: What was the original vision behind Salt at Shoal Bay?
We never wanted Salt at Shoal Bay to feel like somewhere guests simply slept. From the beginning, we wanted it to be the experience itself.
At the time, there were lots of holiday properties in the area, but very few holiday homes specifically designed around the guest experience. Airbnbs or holiday properties that gave guests those little luxuries you’d normally expect in a hotel, particularly for families and groups, so we approached the property very differently from the start.
We wanted to create three separate self contained spaces so that large family groups could come and stay together while still all having their own space. Our hope was that guests would return year after year, almost like revisiting a caravan park where everyone has their own cabin. I love the nostalgia of that from childhood holidays. Kids and cousins running between the different spaces, everyone together but still separate enough to retreat and relax when needed.
We became obsessed with asking all the tiny detail questions.
How will people gather here? Where will they drink their morning coffee? Where will the kids naturally play? What little conveniences could we add to make the stay feel effortless? Snorkel sets, surfboards, bikes, toy drawers, prams, outdoor showers.
That mindset shaped everything.
Q: What do you think makes a stay truly memorable?
For us, it’s when the accommodation is an experience in itself.
That’s what makes a really successful property. When spaces are intentionally designed around feeling and memory, not just aesthetics. It’s rarely the biggest or most expensive feature people remember. Usually it’s the thoughtful details hosts actually have control over. Luxury products guests might not buy for themselves at home like beautiful shampoos, conditioners and hand creams. Added extras like bikes, snorkel sets and surfboards. Specially designed spaces like a little seat positioned perfectly for morning coffee in the sun, or a bespoke cubby house the kids become obsessed with. Local wine, beautiful books, a speaker with a playlist already set up.
It’s those little touches that turn accommodation into an experience.
One thing we always encourage hosts to think about is creating little “experience zones” throughout a property. Spaces or moments intentionally designed to help guests slow down, connect and create rituals during their stay.
That’s often what turns a property into somewhere guests genuinely remember and return to.
Q: What are some design decisions that have made the biggest difference operationally?
One thing hosts often forget is that holiday property design has to work hard behind the scenes, not just look beautiful in photos. It has to hold up over hundreds of stays and regular heavy duty cleaning during turnovers.
This is something that comes up constantly with students inside Hostable. We always encourage hosts to think about their cleaning staff and maintenance teams when making design selections. Things like slipcover sofas where covers can be quickly washed or replaced after spills, wipeable dining chairs and tables, and lamp bases in glass, metal or hard finishes that are easy to dust and clean make a huge difference long term. Even material selections matter more than people realise. There are some beautiful woven, rattan or fabric chairs out there, but in high turnover properties they can quickly become difficult to clean and constantly need repairing or replacing.
The most successful holiday properties are usually the ones that balance aesthetics with practicality.
Q: What systems have made the biggest difference behind the scenes?
Good systems are honestly what make a holiday property sustainable long term.
Our advice is always to streamline as much as possible. Things like scheduled guest communication, clear inventory systems, maintenance schedules, trusted contractors, organised storage and detailed turnover checklists save an enormous amount of stress behind the scenes and create a much smoother experience for both guests and owners.
A lot of people focus heavily on launch day, but the real success of a holiday property is usually built in the systems that support it afterwards.
Q: What role do branding and photography play in a successful holiday property?
Honestly, they play a huge role. Before guests ever experience your property in person, they experience it online first, so your photography and branding are often what make someone stop scrolling and actually feel something.
Good quality photography is an absolute must, but we talk a lot inside Hostable about the importance of storytelling and styling within your imagery too. It’s not just about photographing rooms, it’s about translating the experience your property offers to a potential guest. Shooting emotive details and little scenes around the property helps people imagine themselves there. A glass of wine and a book by the fire, morning coffee in the sun, kids coming back from the beach, music playing while dinner is cooking.
Those moments are what create emotional connection.
I think the most memorable properties are usually the ones that feel really cohesive. The interiors, photography, styling, tone of voice and guest experience all work together to tell the same story. That’s what helps a property feel more like a brand and experience, rather than just another holiday listing online.
Q: What are some mistakes you made early on, or things you wish you knew from the beginning?
Honestly, there were so many questions we didn’t even know we needed to ask in the beginning.
One of the biggest things we’ve learned is that holiday properties are really won or lost in the day to day functionality behind the scenes. Small operational details make a huge difference over hundreds of stays and turnovers.
Things like choosing a freezer with an automatic ice machine so cleaners aren’t constantly refilling trays between guests. Having lockable owner storage, extra linen sets onsite, enough power points in practical places, durable outdoor furniture, and finishes that can actually withstand constant cleaning and wear and tear.
We also wish we’d asked more questions upfront with our property manager around fees, owner usage, direct bookings, maintenance processes and how involved we wanted to be long term, rather than assuming handing everything over would automatically be the easiest option.
Those little details end up having a huge impact on profitability, stress levels and how smoothly a property runs long term.
