American vacation rental online marketplace company, Airbnb, in compliance with limits on gatherings, in the wake of the pandemic has banned house parties worldwide.
As part of the latest move, occupancy will be limited to 16 people, with a few exceptions for some venues.
According to the BBC, the UK’s Bed and Breakfast Association had warned that the lockdown parties hosted in Airbnb properties were putting the communities at risk. The firm says it will pursue legal action if guests or hosts break the rules.
Airbnb in an official statement said, “Instituting a global ban on parties and events is in the best interest of public health,”
It added that 73% of its listings explicitly banned parties but some hosts allowed small parties such as baby showers or birthday celebrations.
Despite this, Airbnb acknowledged that some of its guests had chosen to “take bar and club behaviour to homes sometimes rented through our platforms”.
It said, “We think such conduct is incredibly irresponsible – we do not want that type of business, and anyone engaged in or allowing that behaviour does not belong on our platform.”
Airbnb had started putting in place stricter measures with a ban on party houses that created persistent neighbourhood nuisance.
As part of its new policies in compliance with the social distancing rules, the company had also removed the “event friendly” and “parties and events allowed” search filters.
And earlier this month, it prevented some under-25s in the UK from booking entire homes, following successful pilots in Canada and the US.
