Airbnb is permanently banning parties and events at accommodation listed on its website, it has been announced.
The company says the decision follows a temporary ban introduced in August 2020 when some holidaymakers took "partying behaviour to rented homes" as there were restrictions at bars and nightclubs due to Covid at the time. Since then, Airbnb has recorded a 44% year-on-year drop in complaints about parties, and received "positive feedback from community leaders and elected officials".
Examples of incidents have included a home in Dorset being trashed in March last year when it was used for a party attended by around 60 people after being booked on Airbnb by a couple for a two-night break. Two months later, residents in Bearsted, near Maidstone, Kent, described how "at least 100 people" descended on a four-bedroom home for a raucous gathering with "thumping music all night long" after it was rented through the site.
Airbnb said there are "serious consequences" for guests who breach the party ban, varying from the suspension of their account to being permanently removed from the platform. Around 6,600 people's accounts were suspended last year for "attempting to violate our party ban".
However, a 16-person occupancy cap for Airbnb listings, introduced as part of the August 2020 ban, has been lifted to allow listings for accommodation that can "comfortably" hold more than that number of people.
The company said in a statement: "From castles in Europe, to vineyards in the US, to large beachfront villas in the Caribbean, amazing properties like these thrive on hosting multi-generational family trips and larger groups, and removing this cap is meant to allow those hosts to responsibly utilise the space in their homes while still complying with our ban on disruptive parties."
Read Next:
-
Spain updates booster vaccine rules for British holidaymakers visiting this summer
-
Couple thrown from seats on TUI flight after hearing 'loud bangs' from engine
-
Warning as fraudsters use summer holidays and festival events to scam people
-
How ETIAS visa waiver for British tourists visiting the EU Schengen countries will work
-
The cheapest all-inclusive deals for summer holidays that wont break the bank
