ENCINO, CA — Short-term rental giant Airbnb will attempt to enforce its party ban and weed out violators on New Year’s Eve in Los Angeles, the company announced Monday.
Los Angeles — particularly the Hollywood Hills and parts of the San Fernando Valley — has long been a hot spot for rowdy parties on short-term rentals, and the company has come under pressure from the city to curb the party houses that disrupt residential neighborhoods. Airbnb this week announced expanded measures to discourage revelers from using short-term rentals to host large parties.
The vacation rental platform first announced Nov. 2 that it would ban guests without a history of positive Airbnb reviews from making one-night bookings in whole-home listings on Dec. 31. – overnight bookings during this period by customers with no history of positive reviews.
On Monday, the platform announced that it would expand its restrictions on two-night bookings to also include three-night bookings. The decision was made based on positive feedback from hosts using the platform, according to Airbnb.
Last year, Airbnb announced it was removing 28 properties from listings identified by the Los Angeles Police Department as creating a substantial nuisance to the neighborhood.
Neighbors have long struggled with rented homes for huge parties, causing noise, traffic and parking headaches.
“LAPD provided Airbnb with information related to ‘Chronic Party Houses,’ some of which generated citations and cease-and-desist orders,” Airbnb said in a statement at the time.
Also in 2020, Airbnb announced a worldwide ban on parties and events with more than 16 people in Airbnb listings in an effort to prevent nuisance disrupting surrounding neighborhoods.
During holidays that attract more unauthorized parties, the platform steps up its preventative measures, according to Airbnb, which said the program aims to protect its guests and minimize disruption to the neighborhood.
The platform first tested its restrictions during New Year’s Eve in 2020 for the continental United States, Canada, Australia, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. According to Airbnb, around 243,000 guests worldwide encountered the restrictions when trying to book before New Year’s Eve.
Its 2021 restrictions apply to the same countries as in 2020, plus Brazil and New Zealand. US restrictions have also been extended to include Puerto Rico.
The same restrictions applied in the United States and Canada on July 4 and Halloween in 2021.
City and Patch News Service member Paige Austin contributed to this report.
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