Airbnb Issues Strict Anti-Party Rule Days Before New Year's Eve

Sophie Webster, Tech Times 21 December 2021, 04:12 pm

On Dec. 20, Airbnb announced tightening its policy restrictions regarding New Year's Eve parties.

The company added that anti-party restrictions would be imposed on three-night rentals for guests who do not have a history of positive reviews on the platform.

Airbnb Anti-Party Rule

In the United States, Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Australia, and New Zealand, guests who do not have a history of positive reviews on AirBnB's platform can no longer make three-night reservations for a whole house that may pose risks for unauthorized parties. The company said that it would instead focus on local reservations.

The hosts' guests who have great reviews won't be subject to the anti-party rule, Airbnb confirmed.

In 2019, the company banned house parties after fatal shooting during a massive Halloween party at a rental home in California. It resulted in five casualties, and the local news reports stated that there were more than 100 people in the rental home at the time.

Also Read: How to Spot Airbnb Hidden Cameras, TikTok User Claiming to be an Ex-Hacker Exposes on Viral Video

Last year, the company said that it was adding restrictions to adhere to the social distancing requirements imposed by the local health departments for large gatherings, according to News12.

The rule resulted in AirBnB blocking 50,000 reservations due to its party ban.

In-person gatherings are limited to 16 people only. Both hosts and guests who try to evade the rules could be subject to a ban from Airbnb and even legal action.

During the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, AirBnB had put into place a couple of guidelines for hosts and guests, and its policies could be applied if either a host or a guest becomes infected.

The company had updated its rules as the pandemic conditions changed, and it even added filters for guests to find listings with flexible cancellations policies.

While the company has not implemented new policies despite the spread of the omicron variant, Ben Briet, the spokesperson of AirBnB, confirmed to The Verge that the guidelines from last year would still apply.

This week, Airbnb also updated its platform after a woman came forward and said that the listing did not inform her that her rental is connected to a restaurant.

AirBnB's COVID-19 Safety Practices

The company made it mandatory for all guests to wear masks and practice social distancing as local laws require it. Guests must maintain six feet of distance from each other at all times.

Also, Airbnb has imposed a five-step enhanced cleaning process between each stay. All guests and hosts must follow the safety practices and the cleaning process. Hosts who would not agree to these practices will have their calendars blocked.

Any guest or host who would constantly violate the guidelines may face other consequences, like suspending their account or being removed from the community.

Guests should also present a list of requirements to ensure that it is safe for them to use a rental home. A guest must not be actively infected or have tested positive with COVID-19 14 days before using a rental home.

The guest must not be sick or exposed and should not be in the middle of awaiting the test results of their COVID-19 diagnosis. The guest must also not be showing any symptoms of possible COVID-19 infection.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in Airbnb losing 25% of its workforce as the reservations of rental homes became more strict.