As of August 20, 2022, Airbnb announced a temporary global ban on all parties and events at Airbnb listings. According to Airbnb, 73% of listings had party bans in their house rules prior to the ban by Airbnb. In 2019, listings that caused constant neighborhood nuisance, also known as “party houses” were the main reasons that Airbnb began enforcing harsher limits. Airbnb also updated its policies when social distancing became essential in advocating for public health during the pandemic. One of these policies called for all users to follow the local COVID-19 public health instructions. As a result, they removed the “event-friendly” search filter from their platform as well as the house rules that allowed parties and events.
Due to the change in public health mandates on gatherings, entertainment joints like clubs and bars got closed down. Hence, some individuals started to take these parties to Airbnb. The company said “Such conduct is very irresponsible. We do not want that type of business, and anyone engaged in or allowing that behavior does not belong on our platform. Based on these developments, instituting a global ban on parties and events is in the best interest of public health.”
Recently, as of June 28, 2022, Airbnb announced that the temporary ban had proved effective. As a result, they officially codified the ban as their policy. The company believes that there is a direct correlation between the installation of the policy in 2020 and the 44% year-over-year drop in the rate of party reports. “The ban has been well received by our Host community and we’ve received positive feedback from community leaders and elected officials. As we build on this momentum, we believe the time is right to codify this policy” it said. The company also stated “Over time, the party ban became much more than a public health measure. It developed into a bedrock community policy to support our Hosts and their neighbors.”
With these changes, what’s next for Airbnb? The company stated that they are contemplating removing the cap on occupancy at 16. This stemmed from feedback from some Hosts with listings that can house 16 plus people with ease. The company had a recent Summer release with categories of larger homes in which Hosts can house bigger groups of people while still adhering to Airbnb’s party ban. Feedback from long-term trustworthy Airbnb Hosts influenced this decision. It will be effective in the months to come.
Last year, Airbnb suspended more than 6.600 guests for trying to violate the party ban. Hence, the party and events policy will keep incorporating severe ramifications for guests who try to violate these rules. It may vary from account suspension to being completely removed from the platform.
Airbnb is still going strong in its quest to fight disruptive parties. The company said, “We’ve introduced many anti-party measures to enforce our policy and try, to the best of our ability, to stop both unauthorized parties and chronic party houses.” These measures include a 24/7 safe line and a partnership with Vrbo. Such measures will help to protect the property of Airbnb Hosts and their neighbors.
