Robert Besser
05 Jul 2022, 20:16 GMT+10
SAN FRANCISCO, California: In response to a string of shootings that have broken out at U.S. properties it lists, rental booking giant Airbnb has issued a permanent global ban on parties.
On Tuesday, the San Francisco-based company announced that a temporary party ban it enacted in August 2020 over health concerns prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic will be officially codified in its policies.
"It developed into a bedrock community policy to support our hosts and their neighbors," Airbnb said in its statement, adding that the ban aims to "deter the very rare cases of Hosts who do not operate responsibly, or guests who try to throw unauthorized parties."
Airbnb said guests violating its party ban will suffer "serious consequences," including the suspension of accounts or full removal from the platform.
According to the company, in 2021 more than 6,600 guests were suspended for violating its temporary party ban.
Noting after the temporary ban was imposed, reports of parties dropped 44 percent year-to-year.
"Strong policies must be complemented by strong enforcement. We have introduced a number of anti-party measures in recent years to enforce our policy and try, to the best of our ability, to stop both unauthorized parties and chronic party houses," the company said.
Despite the temporary ban, several shootings have occurred at Airbnb rentals across the U.S.
In April, two teenagers were killed and eight people were wounded at a Pittsburgh Airbnb rental house, where police said roughly 200 people were having a party.
Airbnb responded by issuing a lifetime ban against the person who rented the house and filed a lawsuit.
The Pittsburgh shooting came just days after a 23-second running gun battle in Houston, Texas, which erupted during a teenager's birthday party at an Airbnb rental left one person wounded, authorities said.
"This decision was made based on feedback from the longstanding and trusted members of our global Host community, and it will take effect in the coming months," Airbnb said.
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