Airbnb instituted a global ban on parties last year to curb the spread of the coronavirus, and the firm announced today that it"s keeping the ban in place in an attempt to "cultivate safe and responsible travel through our platform." The ban will be effective at least until the end of summer 2021, and the firm will then provide another update on its policy.
The firm admits that when the ban was announced, cases were spiking and vaccines were not yet available. It believes that extending the ban is in the best interest of public health. As a result of the ban, the "event-friendly" search filter and the "parties and events allowed" House Rule have been removed from listings. These tags will remain unavailable throughout the ban.
Further actions have also been taken by Airbnb to prevent unauthorized parties. This includes the Neighborhood Support Line, which lets neighbors report any issues directly to the firm regarding violations of its rules. These rules pertain to disruptive parties and restricting guests under the age of 25 from booking entire home listings in their local area under specific conditions in the U.S., Canada, France, and Spain.
After violent events unfolded in Washington DC earlier this year, Airbnb canceled all metro area reservations in the U.S. capital throughout inauguration week.