LOS ANGELES – Airbnb announced a global ban on all parties and events at its listings, including a cap on occupancy at 16 until further notice amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airbnb stated that starting Friday, the party ban applies to all future bookings.
“We are currently scoping a potential exception process for specialty and traditional hospitality venues (such as boutique hotels),” Airbnb said in a statement. “Guests will be informed about Airbnb’s party rules and informed that they may be legally pursued by Airbnb if they violate our policy. This work is currently being operationalized and will be rolled out in the near future.”
Airbnb stated the move comes on the heels of a party house crackdown in Los Angeles County earlier this year, which resulted in the suspension or removal of 28 listings in the Hollywood Hills identified as “creating a substantial neighborhood nuisance.”
“We are currently in the process of communicating this new policy to our global community. We are partners with our hosts on this important issue and we both feel the pain when an unauthorized party occurs during an Airbnb reservation,” Airbnb stated. “We believe having a simpler, global policy will allow us to better support the vast majority of hosts who already ban parties in their homes.”
Airbnb stated that when the COVID-19 pandemic was declared and social distancing became an important element in promoting public health and responsible travel, it updated its policies. At the time, most local governments were imposing strict limits on gatherings.
Some guests, however, chose to take “bar and club behavior to homes” that are sometimes rented through the platform.
“We acknowledge that there will always be those who attempt to break the rules,” Airbnb stated. “This is why we’ve implemented steep consequences for hosts or guests who try to skirt them, including bans from our community and even legal action.”
The full statement from Airbnb is available at news.airbnb.com/airbnb-announces-global-party-ban.
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