Airbnb Will Now Be Banning ‘Party Houses’ – Here’s Why

Forget booking that vacation rental for a party; Airbnb has announced it will be banning “party houses”, according to a tweet by its CEO and co-founder Brian Chesky. 

This comes after five people have died from a mass shooting at a Halloween party held at one of Airbnb’s property listings in Orinda, San Francisco.

Starting today, we are banning “party houses” and we are redoubling our efforts to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct, including conduct that leads to the terrible events we saw in Orinda. Here is what we are doing:

— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) November 2, 2019

The owners of the property, Michael Wang and his wife had been told by the party host that the one-night rental was to be for a small family reunion. They had even reminded the guest to not hold any parties.

Orinda is a small city with a population of about 20, 000 people and requires short-term rental hosts to be registered. The maximum number of guests is capped at 13.

Violating the no-party policy, the renter had even sent out a mass invitation on social media to her ‘mansion party’. Over 100 people were present at the time of the shooting. 

Airbnb’s “Strict Ban” on Party Houses

Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb has responded to the tragedy by announcing that they will be putting a strict ban on parties. They will be taking measures such as increasing manual screening of guests and property hosts based on its risk detection technology, and creating a “rapid response team”. 

With a plan of becoming a public-listed company in 2020 at a value of US$31 billion, Airbnb is taking these plans seriously and will remove people from the site as necessary. As spoken by Chesky, “We must do better, and we will. This is unacceptable”.

While the owners of the property had taken steps by calling the police upon observing that the number of guests had exceeded from their door camera, they have been previously involved in similar violations and complaints. Incidents of over-occupancy, noise, and improper trash disposal had been filed against them in February and July too. 

Both host and renter have been removed from Airbnb. 

Police are still investigating the rationale for the shootings and have yet to identify any suspects. Amongst the victims, was a boy who had been hired to play music for the party. Many others have also been severely wounded and are seeking aid at the hospital.

Also read: 15 Unique Airbnb Experiences For You to Try in Southeast Asia