Airbnb tightens ‘anti-party’ rules around New Year’s Eve
Unless hosts on Airbnb have given you plenty of positive reviews, you may find it difficult to make reservations around New Year’s Eve on the shortterm residential rental company’s platform.
Airbnb announced it has instituted several measures this year in an effort to discourage unauthorized and disruptive parties from taking place this New Year’s Eve holiday at its host properties across the United States.
Airbnb first announced the policy restrictions on Nov. 2 by banning guests without a history of positive reviews on the platform from making one-night reservations at all on Dec. 31, and preventing many last-minute bookings for two-night stays in some cases.
But on Monday, Airbnb further tightened those restrictions by also banning certain guests from making three-night reservations during the holiday in cases that “may pose heightened risks for unauthorized parties,” according to the company.
The measures, which mirror those the company also implemented around Halloween, come with the support of the company’s host community and with their well-being in mind, the company said.
“Based upon their feedback, we’re announcing today that we will beef up this anti-party initiative even further and expand it to include three-night reservations as well,” Liz Debold Fusco, a spokeswoman for the company, said in a written statement. “We are publicly communicating this initiative to help support our Columbus hosts and send a message to would-be partiers that we won’t tolerate that type of behavior on our platform.”
Airbnb piloted a similar approach during New Year’s Eve last year, preventing an estimated 243,000 guests from making prohibited bookings.
The widespread availability of COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots means it’s anticipated that more people will travel during the holiday season
this year despite the rapid spread of the highly-transmissible omicron variant. The Centers for Disease Control has indicated that short-term rentals such as those offered through Airbnb may present a lower risk for travelers to transmit or catch the virus because there are often no common spaces shared with strangers.
But amid and even before the pandemic, Airbnb has taken strides to discourage large gatherings and ban socalled “party houses” that can be a nuisance to nearby neighbors and even lead to safety concerns.
Airbnb implemented strict limits on “party houses” in 2019 after five people were killed in a shooting during a Halloween party in a California rental. In August 2020, the company announced a global ban on parties and events at Airbnb listings, with an occupancy cap of 16 people worldwide.
And Columbus has not been immune to the crackdown.
Last year, Airbnb suspended or removed the accounts of 40 party houses in Columbus for policy violations related
to large gatherings.
Last summer, the Columbus City Council approved changes to the city code that puts more responsibility on the owners of short-term rental properties to make sure their properties don’t hurt the quality of life in their neighborhoods, which is broad language that can involve anything from trash around the property to loud parties.
Effective July 22, the city code now includes a new 311 category for complaint calls about short-term rentals, as well as a “three-call” rule, meaning investigations won’t begin until three calls have been made to the city about problem rentals.
The changes also include a provision through which the city can revoke a license at any time without waiting for the annual license renewal, and a process for appeal.
Eric Lagatta is a reporter at the Columbus Dispatch covering public safety, breaking news and social justice issues. Reach him at elagatta@dispatch.com. Follow him on Twitter @Ericlagatta