Airbnb, the platform for renting accommodation between individuals, will ban the organisation of any parties or events in the accommodation offered on its site, and will limit the capacity to a maximum of 16 people, it announces on Thursday.
The ban applies to all bookings made from Thursday until further notice, the company said on its website.
With the Covid-19 pandemic, “some have chosen to take bar and club behaviour to homes, sometimes rented through our platform," the group noted. "We think such conduct is incredibly irresponsible – we do not want that type of business, and anyone engaged in or allowing that behaviour does not belong on our platform," Airbnb added.
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Even though hosts could accept parties in their own homes up until now, 73% of the accommodation on the site had already banned all events.
Airbnb had also imposed restrictions at the end of 2019 to limit unauthorised parties after a Halloween party that had turned into a drama. They notably banned houses presenting themselves as party venues.
Airbnb had also created a team to react quickly to problems and take immediate action against users who did not comply with the new party rules.
But the group took additional steps with the pandemic and social distancing rules, such as removing from its filters the indication that guests agreed to host events or asking guests to respect local rules.
"However, in many large jurisdictions, public health mandates on gatherings have changed – and in some places swung back and forth in response to the changing rates of Covid cases – as have regulations on bars, clubs and pubs," Airbnb noted.
In this context, "instituting a global ban on parties and events is in the best interest of public health," the group said.
The Brussels Times
