Throwing a party at an Airbnb is now permanently banned at all properties, the short-term rental platform announced.
Earlier this week, Airbnb chose to codify a temporary ban on all parties and events that it introduced in August 2020. The temporary ban, which the company says has proven successful, was set in place during the pandemic as many bars and clubs closed and Airbnb saw an uptick in partying behaviour being brought to their rental properties.
"This was concerning to us due to both the disruptive nature of unauthorized parties and the risk of such gatherings spreading the virus," the company said. "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."
Since the implementation of the temporary ban, Airbnb says it has seen a 44% year-over-year drop in the rate of party reports, and has received positive feedback from hosts, community leaders, and elected officials. But the 2020 ban wasn't the first crack down on partying from the San Francisco-based company. In 2019, after a fatal shooting at a party at a house in California, Airbnb prohibited advertising parties at Airbnb rentals on social media.
Now, with the total party ban permanently in place, disruptive parties and events will continue to be prohibited. Properties deemed to be "chronic party houses" will also be prohibited.
Airbnb says there will continue to be "serious consequences" for guests who attempt to violate the rules, varying from account suspension to full removal from the platform. In 2021 alone, more than 6,600 guests were suspended from Airbnb for attempting to violate the party ban.
In the future, there may be some exceptions included in the party policy for specialty and traditional hospitality venues, but Airbnb is currently looking into that possibility with nothing finalized as of yet.
And as one restriction becomes permanent another has been lifted: occupancy caps. In the summer of 2020, Airbnb announced a 16-person occupancy cap in response to concerns around large gatherings. But now with vaccines rolled out and COVID-19 restrictions relaxed, the cap is being removed. This means that larger properties, including European castles and Caribbean villas, can go back to hosting larger groups and multi-generational family trips.
"This decision was made based on feedback from the longstanding and trusted members of our global Host community, and it will take effect in the coming months," Airbnb said.
