About us

The team building Haven

We’re engineers and operators who scaled some of the most demanding platforms in tech — and who fell in love with hospitality along the way. We started Haven to give short-term rental hosts a direct-booking experience worthy of their guests.

Why we built Haven

Hospitality is in the details. So is great software.

Between us we’ve taken products from zero to global scale, run kitchens and front desks, and looked after guests on the open water. We kept seeing the same gap: hosts pour themselves into unforgettable stays, then hand the booking — and the relationship — to a marketplace that treats them like inventory. Haven is our answer. A platform that puts the host’s brand first, makes direct booking effortless, and treats every guest like a guest.

Meet the founders

Four founders, one home base in Boston, and a shared belief that hosts deserve better tools.

Kate Swanson

Founder & CEO

Boston, MA

Kate was an early engineer at Facebook, Uber, and Toast, joining each before its IPO and helping build the infrastructure that supported their growth. Her years at Toast were spent close to restaurants and operators, which is where her interest in hospitality took shape. Haven brings those two sides of her work together: building software that scales, and designing it around how hosts and guests actually behave.

Early engineer at Facebook, Uber, and Toast, joining each before its IPO; her years at Toast were spent close to restaurants and operators.

Trip Jagolta

Co-Founder, Hospitality & Growth

Boston, MA

Trip studied hotel management at Boston University and has worked at the intersection of hospitality and technology ever since. He spent nine years at Toast, including time in its New Ventures group, where he helped build the company's catering and events business from the ground up. He leads Haven's hospitality and growth work, grounded in how operators actually run their businesses.

Studied hotel management at Boston University and spent nine years at Toast, including its New Ventures group, where he helped build the catering and events business.

Dustin Hofer

Co-Founder, Engineering

Boston, MA

Dustin began his career captaining superyachts, where reliable logistics and consistent service were part of the job. He returned to school for a second degree in computer science and moved into software engineering five years ago. At Haven he focuses on the systems that need to be dependable and correct under real-world conditions.

Former superyacht captain with a second degree in computer science; at Haven he builds the systems that must stay dependable and correct under real-world conditions.

Gavin Hofer

Co-Founder, Infrastructure & Security

Boston, MA

Gavin is a backend and infrastructure engineer focused on the parts of Haven that run behind the scenes: reliability, performance, and security. He builds and maintains the systems that keep hosts' data safe and the platform running smoothly, with an emphasis on getting the foundational details right.

Backend and infrastructure engineer who builds and maintains the systems behind Haven's reliability, performance, and security.

Come build your Haven.

We’re building Haven for hosts who care about every detail of the stay. If that’s you, we’d love to have you.

Talk to the team