Airbnb Blocks Some One-Night Rentals For July Fourth Weekend To Help Prevent Parties
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — Airbnb announced Monday it will block some one-night rentals at its listings in Los Angeles and elsewhere to help prevent large gatherings over the Fourth of July weekend.
On Aug. 20, 2020, Airbnb enacted a ban on all gatherings of more than 16 people at its listings throughout the world. The ban is in effect until further notice, but it hasn't stopped some in Los Angeles from throwing parties in Airbnb listings.
The company implemented a similar ban on New Year's Eve, keeping guests that don't have positive reviews on Airbnb from making one-night reservations in entire-home listings.
Similarly, those who have a history of positive reviews will be able to book one-night reservations during July Fourth weekend, Airbnb said.
"Guests who are reported for throwing a disruptive party or violating our rules on gatherings of more than 16 people are subject to suspension or removal from Airbnb's platform," according to Airbnb's rules.
Over Halloween weekend in the United States and Canada, the company implemented a one-night reservation policy in all its listings.
The company's policy also states that it will remove listings if the host has authorized a party.
The company may also suspend a listing or tell the host to update their rules to emphasize that no parties are allowed if there are reports that the listing is disrupting the community.
A few days after it was enacted, Airbnb suspended more than 50 listings in L.A. County for violating the ban. The listings had been the subject of complaints.
"Stopping large gatherings is more important than ever in this current environment, and we support local efforts by Mayor Garcetti and others to crackdown on party houses," Airbnb's Director of Public Policy in Los Angeles, John Choi, said on Aug. 24.
"We also hope that sharing out these steps today can raise further awareness of our 24/7 neighbor hotline so that we can continue to strengthen the enforcement of our policies throughout the county."
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
