On September 13, 2023, Airbnb announced the #1 most hospitable hosts in all of Ontario—David and Wendy Harrison of Huntsville, who host The Farm on Old North Road.
According to Airbnb, the Harrisons received the honour by getting a 100 per cent rate of 5-star reviews (with a minimum of 100 reviews) in the categories of cleanliness, check-in experience, and communication.
The Harrisons moved to Huntsville from Scarborough in 2017, looking for a more tranquil life, according to David Harrison via email correspondence with Doppler.
They purchased the Old Bickley Farm on Old North Road and guests stay in the original 1896 century farmhouse.”We changed the name of the farm to The Farm on Old North Road, but it is locally known as the Bicklely Farm. The Bickleys used to own the Ford dealership in town and Mrs. Bickley was the visionary responsible for the farm’s restoration,” noted Harrison.
“Running a B&B seemed to be the ideal way to stay active in retirement. Wendy and I both enjoy entertaining. We chose Airbnb as, at the time, it was the principal hosting website. It is very easy to set up and use. We posted our listing September 1, 2017, and welcomed our first guests two weeks later and have not looked back,” he added.
They are celebrating their sixth anniversary of welcoming guests from all over the world. Harrison described it as a truly rewarding experience and said the couple have made very close friends.
Harrison said hosting a B&B has also given them flexibility. “We did not want hosting a B&B to take over our lives and so we deliberately restrict bookings to about 35% occupancy,” he explained.
“Airbnb recognized us as ’The Most Hospital Hosts in Ontario’ for the first time in 2021. When we first received Airbnb’s notification email we thought it was a phishing scam. We were startled to find out that it was not! Now we have been recognized for the second time which is a double honour,” he said, adding that being close to Arrowhead Park has also been beneficial. “We are located just 5 minutes from Arrowhead Park which has kept us busy in the wintertime with its skiing and skating trails.”
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Congratulations David and Wendy! Your place and care for people is beautiful.