Airbnb is making its ban on parties permanent

The policy includes "serious consequences" for guests who attempt to violate Airbnb's rules.

Home rental service Airbnb has announced it is making the temporary party ban it introduced at its listings in 2020 permanent. In a statement on Tuesday, the company said the ban has been well received by its host community, as well as by community leaders and elected officials, adding that it felt it was the right time to codify the policy. Historically, Airbnb allowed its hosts to authorise parties if they deemed it appropriate for their home and neighbourhood. However, in late 2019, the company tightened its measures to prohibit "chronic party houses" that had developed into neighbourhood nuisances, as well as "open-invite" parties such as those advertised on social media. At the time, Airbnb launched its Neighbourhood Support Line, including in the UK and Ireland, as a way for neighbours to communicate any concerns, which has helped the company enforce the prohibition. Meanwhile, it took further steps to prohibit parties after the emergence of the Covid pandemic, in response to people "taking partying behaviour to rented homes". "This was concerning to us due to both the disruptive nature of unauthorised parties and the risk of such gatherings spreading the virus," Airbnb's statement reads. "As such, we announced the party ban to our community as being in the best interest of public health." Since then though, the company says the ban has become "much more" than a public health measure and has developed into "a bedrock community policy to support our hosts and their neighbours". Airbnb also believes there is a direct correlation between its implementation of the policy in August 2020 and a 44% year-over-year drop in the rate of party reports globally. In terms of how the permanent ban will work, disruptive parties and events will continue to be prohibited, including open-invite gatherings. “Party house” properties will also continue to be banned as well. The policy includes "serious consequences" for guests who attempt to violate these rules, varying from account suspension to full removal from the Airbnb platform. In 2021, over 6,600 guests were suspended for trying to violate the party ban. However, while the temporary ban included a 16-person occupancy cap, the updated policy will remove this. This is to allow the hosts of larger properties that "thrive on hosting multi-generational family trips and larger groups" to responsibly utilise the space in their homes while still complying with the party ban. "In 2020 when we first announced the temporary policy, we noted plans to scope a potential exception process for specialty and traditional hospitality venues, and those plans are still under consideration," Airbnb added.