Airbnb’s House Party Ban Officially Becomes Permanent

In case you missed the news overnight Airbnb dropped the perhaps-unsurprising announcement that house parties at Airbnb-listed properties will be officially banned world wide.

It comes after the online accommodation booking platform placed a temporary restriction on gatherings in 2020 as people sought alternatives to nightclubs and bars being shut in compliance with coronavirus restrictions.

“The temporary ban has proved effective, and today we are officially codifying the ban as our policy,” said the platform via a blog post.

“When the pandemic hit, as many bars and clubs closed or restricted their occupancy, we began to see some people taking partying behavior to rented homes, including through Airbnb,” the post continues. “This was concerning to us due to both the disruptive nature of unauthorized parties and the risk of such gatherings spreading the virus. As such, we announced the party ban to our community as being “in the best interest of public health.”

The San Fancisco-based company said they believed that since implementing the ban in 2020 they had seen a 44% year-over-year drop in party reports, which had been well received by the host community along with community leaders.

Part of the 2020 ban involved a 16-person occupancy cap on properties, which will be lifted for houses than comfortably house above 16 people, to “allow those Hosts to responsibly utilize the space in their homes while still complying with our ban on disruptive parties.”

Attempts to violate the rules will involve consequences such as account suspension or full removal from the platform, the company said, with over 6,600 guests suspended in 2021 trying to violate the party ban.

Header Image: Shutterstock