Airbnb will now ban parties and events in homes listed on its website.
The move comes as the company hopes to promote social distancing and keep people safe from the novel coronavirus.
- The new rules will require 16 occupants maximum.
- Violators could be banned from Airbnb.
“We also understand that 16 is not a magic number, and issues can occur with groups of any size. To be clear, we are not sanctioning smaller gatherings with this policy and all community members are expected to comply with local health restrictions on gatherings. We are capping guests at 16 in these large properties as one step amongst several, all designed to mitigate any efforts to misuse an Airbnb for a party. We will continue to enforce our party rules against groups of any size and will be taking action both on guests and listings if we receive reports from neighbors.” — Airbnb
“Instituting a global ban on parties and events is in the best interest of public health,” Airbnb said.
- Airbnb said 73% of listings across the world already ban parties in the house rules. Some houses currently allow parties like baby showers and birthday events, Reuters reports.
Last year, Airbnb added new restrictions to end “party houses” from its listings. There’s also a new hotline where people can report any disturbances that they see.