Airbnb Makes Ban on Parties Permanent, Guests Who Violate the New Rule Will Be Suspended

Airbnb, an online marketplace for home rentals, announced on Tuesday, June 28, that it will permanently ban parties at homes listed on its website for short-term rentals.

Airbnb Permanently Bans Parties

According to CNBC, the company believes that the party ban has worked because reports of parties at listed properties on their website have decreased 44% from a year ago.

In 2021, more than 6,600 guests were suspended from the website for related violations.

Airbnb bookings that have been used for parties have caused issues for the company.

Airbnb started to crack down on parties in 2019 after a guest was fatally shot after a party in a house in California. At the time, the company banned advertising parties at home rental locations on social media.

In the same year, five people were shot and killed in what was labeled as a "mansion party" in Orinda, California.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the incident happened while the house was used for a Halloween party, and it had more than 100 attendees.

The number of parties at Airbnb locations increased during the COVID019 pandemic as people moved gatherings from bars, clubs, and restaurants to rented homes.

But due to the COVID-19 cases in the United States, the company has banned gatherings in rented homes for the health and safety of the guests.

While making the ban on parties permanent, Airbnb said it would lift a limit of 16 people at rented properties.

Airbnb said that guests who violate its rules would either have their account suspended or be removed from the platform.

Blocking Reservations

The Verge reported that Airbnb began its crackdown on parties in rental homes in 2021. The company has banned a total of 50,000 bookings in 15 cities across the United States, including San Diego, Dallas, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Charlotte.

The rentals that the company has deemed suspicious are short-term and suspected to be used for massive house parties.

The company has blocked a combined total of 9,000 suspicious bookings in Seattle, and Las Vegas, around 5,000 Airbnb bookings have been blocked in Phoenix, Arizona, 2,600 in Portland, Oregon, and 1,800 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

In a separate report by The Verge, Airbnb's head of trust and safety communications, Ben Breit, said that the company had banned 7,000 suspicious bookings in Dallas, Texas, 6,000 in San Diego, California, and 5,100 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A further 3,500 suspicious Airbnb bookings have been banned in Missouri, while blocked bookings in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Columbus, Ohio, totaled 2,700 and 3,000, respectively.

Breit told The Denver post that if a guest is under the age of 25 and they do not have a history of positive reviews from previous homeowners, the company will not allow them to book an entire home listing local to they live.

However, young adults trying to book a smaller home local to where they live will be allowed, like a two-bedroom condo unit.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Sophie Webster