Meet the Best Airbnb Host in Massachusetts


Journey

He started listing his Berkshires rental on Airbnb during the pandemic.

The Williamstown rental owned by Bill Fleury. Bill Fleury

When Bill Fleury started renting his Williamstown property on Airbnb last summer during the coronavirus pandemiche didn’t know how it would turn out.

So he was floored when Airbnb recently named him the best host in Massachusetts.

The best host in every US state has earned five-star reviews 100% of the time on Airbnb in the cleanliness, check-in, and communication categories.

“We are in awe of these amazing hosts who have maintained this level of perfection, delivering five-star reviews 100% of the time in these review categories that matter deeply to our guest community,” Airbnb officials said in a statement. A press release.

Bill Fleury, an Airbnb superhost, has just been named Massachusetts’ top host.

Fleury, a Williamstown native and software developer, now lives in Northern Virginia. He owned the Williamstown rental property on the Green River for nearly 40 years, and he renovated it before listing it on Airbnb last August. Today, he rents out two units: a studio and a two-bedroom apartment.

We caught up with Fleury to ask her the secret to becoming a stellar Airbnb superhost.

Boston.com: Congratulations on being named the most hospitable Airbnb host in Massachusetts. What was your reaction to the news?

Fleury : I could not believe it. We were so shocked because we thought, “This is the first year we’ve done this. We just couldn’t believe we were playing so well. We are just amazed.

How long have you been a host?

We started last August 2020.

So during the pandemic.

That’s right. We had set up this building to go to Airbnb, and then the pandemic hit. We didn’t really know what to do. We said, ‘Well, there it is, empty. Let’s go and see what we can do with it.

What made you want to be a host?

We had always thought about it. And just by renting the apartment to regular tenants, we weren’t really earning much. We were renting it out, and they would stay for three to four years, and then for three to four years, it was really hard to get in and see what was going on there. We just decided, well, furnish it and

    we would probably have better luck. We were surprised from the first week.

    Did you get a great response right away?

    Yeah. Within hours we had four reservations, four reservations.

    Can you describe your location to us?

    It’s on a parallel street to Williamstown’s main shopping area. We are also on the Green River, and at the back of the property we have a small picnic area by the river and a lot of people tend to like that. We took it all down to the studs and installed a new bathroom, new kitchen, brand new floor, new walls. My wife [Marichu] relates to commercial real estate. She has a lot of experience in this field and she has designed the apartments with style and comfort. She takes care of all the decorating, shopping, photography and all of our marketing materials.

    I would like to thank our team members. Our property manager is Richard [Durocher]. He is dedicated to maintaining the property and ensuring that each guest’s experience meets the expectations set out in our advertising and messaging. His wife, Leslie [Durocher], is our cleaner. She is always on site with her cleaning. She makes sure the apartments are always spotless. I wouldn’t be talking to you today without them. I do most of the communications. I do all the interface with the clients, all the messaging.

    Why is Williamstown a great place to visit?

    Williams College is there, so it’s a very academic environment. And it’s also a very artistic place. We have Mass MoCA [in nearby North Adams] and the Williams Summer Theater. There are always a lot of artists in town. Other than that, you’ll get the rural atmosphere of Williamstown. It’s just a very small town and it’s very cozy and everyone is very friendly.

    You are a Superhost for Airbnb. What does that mean?

    This means that we have maintained a set of ratings from Airbnb. They check our ratings every three months to make sure we are following their guidelines and they will give us superhost status.

    What do you do as a host that you think sets you apart?

    I’ll tell you why we’re the best of the best. It’s thanks to our team. It’s teamwork. We split the division of labor, and everyone is engaged and they’re all doing whatever they can do. This is our secret to success.

    What is the most rewarding part of hosting?

    Reviews, in fact, where they will thank us for what we have done. It’s probably the most rewarding.

    Why are Airbnb reviews so important?

    Potential renters will look at these reviews to see if anyone has any complaints or anything, so they can tell a good host from a bad host.

    How are you dealing with the pandemic?

    We adopted Airbnb’s improved five-step cleaning process. We follow their COVID-19 safety practices.

    How can travelers be good hosts?

    Just obey our house rules and be considerate of others, especially inside the building. Because there are other apartments here.

    What is your advice for new hosts?

    Pay attention to details. Just try to hit all the bases, you know? I always ask customers if they have any suggestions for improvement. We let them know that we are always trying to improve the customer experience. And if they have any suggestions, just send us a message. And they do that. And these suggestions we take very seriously.

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