Airbnb has officially announced that its ‘party ban’ introduced during the pandemic has become permanent. In August 2020, Airbnb announced a temporary ban on all parties and events in Airbnb listings globally, which was at the time in effect “until further notice”.
Today, Airbnb has officially codified the ban as policy, stating that it's “more than a public health measure”, it's “a bedrock community policy to support our Hosts and their neighbours.” Airbnb found that in the UK there has been a 63% drop in party related complaints since the temporary ban was introduced.
And in 2021, over 6,600 guests were suspended from Airbnb for attempting to violate the party ban. The ban is one of a number of anti-party measures Airbnb has introduced recently, including a 24-hour safety line and Neighbourhood Support Line.
As part of the updated policy, and based on feedback from a number of Hosts, Airbnb will remove the cap on occupancy at 16.
A spokesman said: "At Airbnb, we believe the neighbourhoods and communities in which we operate are as important as the Hosts and guests who use our service. We know that the overwhelming majority of our Hosts share their homes responsibly, just as the overwhelming majority of guests are responsible and treat their Airbnb listings and neighbourhoods as if they were their own.
"In turn, we focus on trying to deter the very rare cases of Hosts who do not operate responsibly, or guests who try to throw unauthorised parties. To that end, in August 2020 we announced a temporary ban on all parties and events in Airbnb listings globally — which at the time was in effect “until further notice.”
"Historically, we allowed Hosts to use their best judgement and authorise parties when appropriate for their home and neighbourhood. In late 2019, we tightened our measures to prohibit both “open-invite” parties (i.e., those advertised on social media) as well as “chronic party houses” that had developed into neighbourhood nuisances. At that time, we also launched our Neighbourhood Support Line – including in the UK and Ireland – as a direct line for neighbours to communicate any concerns to Airbnb, which has helped us enforce that prohibition on party houses.
"When the pandemic hit, as many bars and clubs closed or restricted their occupancy, we began to see some people taking partying behaviour to rented homes, including through Airbnb. This was concerning to us due to both the disruptive nature of unauthorised parties and the risk of such gatherings spreading the virus. As such, we announced the party ban to our community as being “in the best interest of public health.”
"Over time, the party ban became much more than a public health measure. It developed into a bedrock community policy to support our Hosts and their neighbours.
"We believe there is a direct correlation between our implementation of the policy in August 2020 and a 44% year-over-year drop in the rate of party reports globally, a 49% drop in reports in Ireland and 63% drop in the UK. The ban has been well received by our Host community and we’ve received positive feedback from community leaders and elected officials. As we build on this momentum, we believe the time is right to codify this policy. "
Amanda Cupples, General Manager for Northern Europe at Airbnb, said: “Today’s announcement makes clear that there is no place for disruptive parties on Airbnb. Since being introduced, the ban has led to a reduction in reported incidents and helped minimise the impact of noise and nuisance issues on communities. In the rare event of an issue, our Neighbourhood Support Line allows anyone with concerns in the community to contact someone at Airbnb directly so we can fully investigate.”
How the codified policy will work
Disruptive parties and events will continue to be prohibited, including open-invite gatherings. “Party house” properties will continue to be strictly prohibited as well.
The temporary party ban policy announced in summer 2020 included a 16-person occupancy cap — which was prompted primarily by COVID-19 concerns around large gatherings prior to the introduction of vaccines. As part of the updated policy, and based on feedback from a number of Hosts who have listings that can house above 16 people comfortably, Airbnb will remove this cap.
Airbnb introduced a number of anti-party measures in recent years to enforce the policy and try to stop both unauthorised parties and chronic party houses.
These include anti-party reservation prevention, special holiday anti-party measures, a 24-hour safety line, a Neighbourhood Support Line, and a partnership with Vrbo to share information on repeat “party house” offenders in the US.
