If you believe the marketing hype, booking holiday accommodation through Airbnb is the only way to experience true kindness and passion from wonderful hosts who want to share their local community with you.
But this is just not true. Around Australia and beyond, you will find property owners, managers and employees who are part of a vibrant tourism industry. They are passionate and their only want is that you have the best holiday possible.
The fact is whether you book through Airbnb, Trip Advisor or Stayz, you will come across many, many wonderful people in your travels – mixed in with the occasional not so wonderful people too. That’s life.
One of the big pluses of running Family Friendly Accommodation is that I meet some lovely people who, until you book to stay with them, are anonymous faces behind their properties.
So, let me introduce some of the people behind some of our best family friendly properties – their stories, their own passions and some great insiders tips as well.
Life’s a beach for Melissa and Kevin
In this post, we meet Melissa & Kevin Speer, the managers of On the Beach Holiday Apartments – a complex of 43 strata titled apartments across seven buildings at Trinity Beach, north of Cairns. They have three children and seven grandchildren.
They became managers of the property seven years ago, attracted by the location and the lifestyle the region offered.
In their past lives, Kevin was an interstate fuel tanker driver and Melissa, a senior executive with the ANZ bank. While this was their first foray into management rights, they previously owned motels in Albury (NSW) and Gladstone (QLD)
Local’s tips
What’s your local’s tip for eating out with families in the local area? Talk to our staff. Listen to local recommendations and don’t always believe what you read on Trip Advisor.
What’s your local’s ‘insider’ tip for something for families to see and do in the area? Walk to the end of Moore St, Trinity Beach and see the natural beauty of Taylor’s Point. This is a gorgeous beach and a great spot for fishing and just relaxing. It’s not advertised anywhere and only really enjoyed by the locals.
What’s the top 3 things families MUST do when staying with you? A trip to the Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation and Daintree Rainforest and Kuranda Skyrail and Scenic Railway.
On holidays
Your current hometown is obviously the best place to families to stay! But when you get some downtime, where do you head to, to relax? The Whitsundays and Airlie Beach. We go overseas for 2-3 weeks each year. In the last 7 years we have been to: Thailand & Singapore, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Bora Bora and Tahiti, Vietnam and Cambodia, Vanuatu, Hawaii, Canada and Alaska.
What’s your dream holiday? Bora Bora/Tahiti was and still is – I would love to go back there because of the pristine waters and laid back lifestyle.
What’s your tip to help parents have a more relaxing family holiday? We love having children stay and do all we can to make sure everyone in the family has the best possible experience staying with us. Trinity Beach has some lovely parks, walkways and bike trails.
The beach is never crowded and with the safe patrolled area directly across the road from our property, what more do you need? We have buckets, spades, body boards and other items to help keep the children occupied which may help you sit back, relax and enjoy the sunshine year round.
Why Trinity Beach?
Why should families stay at Trinity Beach? Trinity Beach is a quiet beach located close to Cairns City, Port Douglas and the Atherton Tablelands.
With this central location, you can choose an apartment to settle down in during your visit here – On the Beach Holiday Apartments offer a range of apartments including garden view, ocean view and beachfront -something to suit all budgets. And best of all for families, you just need to walk across the road to the patrolled and netted beach. Perfect.
