Airbnb is cracking down on disruptive New Year’s Eve parties with some new policies.
Building on its 2020 global party ban, the rentals company will prohibit certain NYE bookings based on the history of the user.
In the US (including Puerto Rico), Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, and the UK, anyone without a track record of positive reviews cannot make one-, two-, or three-night reservations for an entire house, as reported by The Verge. Restrictions do not apply to guests who have received complimentary feedback from Airbnb hosts.
The firm blocked some 243,000 people from making bookings ahead of last year’s NYE celebrations, suggesting the effort “achieved our objectives of reducing disruptive parties.” There is, of course, no way of knowing how many of those potential guests just wanted a quiet weekend away, and how many would have thrown raucous superspreader parties. Airbnb isn’t taking any chances, though.
Following a Halloween 2019 shooting that killed five at a California rental property, Airbnb formally banned “party houses,” as well as “open-invite” events and “large disruptive gatherings” in apartment or condo buildings. It turned out to be the right decision when you consider the first COVID case was identified in December of that year.
In the early days of coronavirus, Airbnb earmarked $250 million to cover 25% of hosts’ normal cancellation fees during the crisis. It also introduced online experiences to keep people entertained at home, and recently launched flexible search options.
The company has not implemented any new policies despite increasing cases of the omicron variant. It did not immediately respond to PCMag’s request for comment.
