Airbnb BANS parties and forbids more than 16 people in a booking following complaints of Covid-19 guidelines being ignored
- Airbnb began banning some parties on its platform at the end of last year
- The latest move will see all parties and event blocked from properties it hosts
- No groups larger than 16 will be able to rent a single property under the rules
Airbnb is to ban all parties and events at its properties – with a maximum occupancy of 16 people at any venue listed on its website, the social travel-firm announced.
According to the company 73 per cent of its global listings already ban parties being held as part of the house rules, and so they are just extending that to all listings.
The move follows a number of complaints and legal issues coming as a result of people hosting parties during the coronavirus pandemic that violated social distancing guidelines in the areas they were staying.
This move is a continuation of efforts launched by Airbnb in 2019 to impose stricter limits on the number of people that can stay at or visit a property they list.
According to the company 73 per cent of its global listings already ban parties being held as part of the house rules, and so they are just extending that to all listings
The firm said that historically they’ve allowed hosts to use their judgement over whether to allow small parties such as baby showers – but that is to end.
‘This party ban applies to all future bookings on Airbnb and it will remain in effect indefinitely until further notice,’ the property sharing company said.
Airbnb said they would consider taking legal action against any guests or even property hosts caught violating these new party ban restrictions.
When the pandemic was declared, and social distancing became an important element in promoting public health in March Airbnb updated its policies.
They started by removing both the ‘event-friendly’ search filter from the platform as well as ‘parties and events allowed’ House Rules from any event-friendly listings.
The company also introduced a new policy requiring all users to adhere to local COVID-19 public health mandates in any area they rented a property.
At the time, most local governments were imposing strict limits on gatherings, which effectively created a form-fitting, patchwork ban on parties and events.
‘In many large jurisdictions, public health mandates on gatherings have changed,’ according to the firm, adding that some places relaxed rules more than others.
The firm said that historically they’ve allowed hosts to use their judgement over whether to allow small parties such as baby showers – but that is to end
This included places closing bars, clubs and pubs – with others keeping them open.
‘Some have chosen to take bar and club behavior to homes, sometimes rented through our platform,’ according to Airbnb.
‘We think such conduct is incredibly irresponsible – we do not want that type of business, and anyone engaged in or allowing that behavior does not belong on our platform.’
The company said that based on this – a global ban on parties and events is the ‘best course of action to take in the interest of public health’.