Airbnb customers who are planning to hold a large party at one of the online rental platform’s vacation homes are advised to make other arrangements.
The San Francisco-based firm announced a global ban on all gatherings at its listings, including an occupancy limit of 16. The new rule will remain in effect indefinitely.
“Some have chosen to take bar and club behavior to homes, sometimes rented through our platform,” Airbnb said in its Thursday (Aug. 20) announcement. “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.”
Unauthorized parties have always been prohibited at its listings, Airbnb said. Nearly three-quarters of all its global properties already ban parties under so-called House Rules and the vast majority of guests follow them, Airbnb added.
Last year, the company launched a 24/7 hotline in the U.S. and Canada as a way to enforce the party house ban and prohibited guests under the age of 25 without a history of positive reviews to book homes.
Airbnb said it removed the “event-friendly” search filter from its platform as well as “parties and events allowed” from any event-friendly listings.
“We acknowledge that there will always be those who attempt to break the rules,” Airbnb said. “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.”
On Wednesday (Aug. 19), the popular vacation rental app submitted plans for an initial public offering (IPO) to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing lacked details on the number of shares to be offered or the price range.
Airbnb has said it still wants to go public by year’s end despite a 40 percent decrease in valuation in three years at $18 billion this year, down from $31 billion in 2017.
Earlier this month, CNBC reported vacationers are turning to rural Airbnb listings where they won’t be as much at risk of catching the coronavirus.
In June, hosts in rural America earned more than $200 million total, a 25 percent year-over-year increase.
