Airbnb is banning house parties worldwide in an attempt to help its reputation and comply with coronavirus-related limits on gatherings.
The home sharing company, based in San Francisco, said it will limit occupancy in its rental homes to 16 people, but may offer exceptions for boutique hotels or other event venues.
Airbnb said it may pursue legal action against guests and hosts who violate the ban.
In July the company banned US and Canadian guests under 25 with fewer than three positive reviews from booking entire homes close to where they live, and last week expanded that policy to Britain, Spain and France.
Airbnb said it also plans to expand a hotline for neighbours to report unauthorised parties.
It comes after several incidents of customers hosting secret gatherings without the host’s consent across London.
One host said her home had been ‘trashed’ several times during lockdown by guests who had masqueraded as key workers in order to set up illegal parties.
Earlier this month furious Londoners were kept awake until 3am after around 160 guests attended an illegal house party, said to have been held at an Airbnb property in Tavistock Terrace, Archway.
Earlier this month furious Londoners were kept awake until 3am after around 160 guests attended an illegal house party, said to have been held at an Airbnb property in Tavistock Terrace, Archway
A neighbour claimed that more than 50 officers helped break up the event which had been attended by more than 160 people
Police on Tavistock Terrace in London after more than 160 people attended a house party
Footage of the Islington party showed dozens of people in the garden of the terraced house not wearing masks or socially distancing.
A neighbour claimed that more than 50 officers helped break up the event which had been attended by more than 160 people. The Met said no arrests were made.
In May, MailOnline revealed how an Airbnb landlord discovered 12 revellers had snuck into his flat for a drink-and-drugs lockdown party on CCTV doorbell footage.
The landlord, who asked not to be identified, said he received a booking for the apartment in Notting Hill, London at around 9pm on April 18, and warned the customer that only two people could be inside the property at once.
He continued to monitor the situation throughout the evening due to similarities the booking had with another from a few days earlier, after which he said the property was left ‘in a mess’ with evidence of drug use and drinking.
The property owner was then awoken at 1am due to phone notifications from his Ring video doorbell alerting him to activity outside the front door.
In a CCTV clip from the doorbell, at least 12 men and women are seen sneaking inside the property, despite earlier warnings that more than two guests would be evicted if caught.
Footage shows two men initially unlocking the front door, before a woman attempts to duck down below the shot of the doorbell to avoid being seen.
She is followed by a man, and later eight further guests, who enter the flat together for what reportedly became a drink-and-drugs party, despite government warnings to stay at home.
In May, MailOnline revealed how an Airbnb landlord discovered 12 revellers had snuck into his flat for a drink-and-drugs lockdown party on CCTV doorbell footage
The landlord, who was abroad at the time, said he sent a relative to the property after he was awoken by the Ring alerts, who reportedly found 11 people smoking cannabis, drinking and socialising.
In June the Bed and Breakfast Association said that parties hosted in properties booked via sites like Airbnb and Booking.com were putting ‘communities at risk’ following complaints of groups of up to 30 people breaking social distancing rules and taking drugs.
One Airbnb host, Darya Simanovich, told BBC News her property had been ‘trashed’ several times amid lockdown by guests posing as key workers who would set up illegal parties.
‘Letting out your home is all about trust,’ she said. ‘It’s hard to think people are breaking the rules, especially when hosts have lost income.’
One neighbour to a rental property in a ‘quiet area in London’ said that there had been ‘four parties’ in their street within four weeks, with groups of 20 people people coming and going, loud music playing until 5am and drug use.
In July, allegations were revealed that a house in Denmark Hill where a stabbing took place after a ‘group fight’ at an AirBnb party had received dozens of complaints from residents before the attack.
The victim was first thought to be in critical condition was then discharged from hospital, and police said it is only luck that prevented the stabbing from becoming a murder investigation.
Last week, Airbnb took legal action against a guest who held an unauthorised party in Sacramento County, California in the United States.
Footage from a Ring doorbell outside a flat in Notting Hill, London captured 12 people as they entered the property amid the coronavirus lockdown on April 18
A woman attempted to evade the Ring doorbell camera by ducking down as she entered
Airbnb has always prohibited unauthorised parties, and the company said nearly 75% of its listings explicitly ban parties.
But after a deadly shooting at a California Airbnb rental last Halloween, the company has taken multiple steps to crack down on parties.
Five people were killed in the shooting, which happened during an unauthorised party.
Airbnb – which has more than seven million listings – offers hundreds of homes that can accommodate 16 people.
There are at least 53 in London, 277 in Beijing, 170 in New York and 116 in Los Angeles, according to the company’s website.
Twelve-year-old Airbnb has been trying to shed its couch-surfing image and appeal to more types of travellers ahead of its initial public offering, which could happen later this year.
Last year, it announced an effort to verify all of its properties, for example.
The company also said it wants to make sure it is complying with public health mandates.