Airbnb makes its party ban permanent



CNN Business

Airbnb said on Tuesday it would make permanent the party ban originally put in place in the early months of the pandemic, citing its effectiveness in curbing unauthorized gatherings.

The company announced a temporary ban on all parties in August 2020 as part of an effort to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 through social distancing efforts. It also followed reports that Airbnb customers threw unauthorized ragers into homes they had rented through the platform.

Airbnb has since seen a 44% year-over-year decline in party reporting rates, which it attributes to the change in policy.

“Over time, the party ban has become much more than a public health measure,” the company said in a statement. statement on its website on Tuesday. “It turned into a fundamental community policy to support our hosts and their neighbors.”

The company said guests who attempt to violate these rules will face consequences ranging from account suspension to complete removal from the platform. He added that more than 6,600 guests were suspended from Airbnb in 2021 for trying to violate the party ban.

Codification of the no-party policy builds on previous efforts by the company to crack down on unauthorized parties, including preventing users under 25 from booking entire property listings in their area if they don’t have a history of positive reviews.

The permanent policy also comes after two teenagers were killed and several people were injured at a party at an Airbnb-rented property in Pittsburgh earlier this year. Airbnb said at the time that it banned the person who booked the property and that the unauthorized event was launched without the knowledge or consent of the host.

Like other parts of the travel industry, Airbnb’s business was initially hit hard by the pandemic. But the company has since experienced a increase in demand

In the first three months of this year, Airbnb reported revenue of $1.5 billion, a 70% jump from the previous year. In May, the company unveiled a major overhaul of its product, including introducing new ways for people to search for homes through unique categories and making it easier to book longer stays amid the rise of remote working.

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