Airbnb has issued a permanent, worldwide ban on house parties and other events at the homes on its platform, although it has kept the option to make a few exceptions in the future.
The ban was originally introduced on a temporary basis, mainly due to concerns from hosts at the beginning of the pandemic. The move reduced the number of complaints about parties by 44%.
The gatherings banned also included ‘open invite’ parties, which had previously resulted in a substantial number of complaints from the unfortunate neighbours of the rental properties.
Thanks to the ban, 6,600 guests were suspended from using the platform over the last year after breaking Airbnb’s rules. Since the ban first came into force in August 2020, Airbnb says the issue has become “much more than a public health measure”. Airbnb said the “new and long term policy” would “encourage and support community safety”.
Possible exceptions to the party ban might be venues made for “specialty and traditional hospitality”, but this has not yet been clarified.
In a move expected to be less popular with the neighbours of properties on Airbnb is the removal of the limit on the number of people that can be accommodated at one time. This rule limited occupancy to 16 people during the pandemic but it has now been removed.
Limits on the platform’s operations overseas have gone even further. Since it started operating in China in 2016, around 25 million people had booked to stay there. However, in May this year, Airbnb announced it would close down its rental business in the country altogether because of its “zero-Covid” policy – although there may be other reasons for the decision, including the requirement to send guest’s details to the Chinese government. Airbnb will instead concentrate on attracting Chinese tourists going abroad, who numbered some 155 million in 2019.