PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Airbnb’s potentially party-pooping policies are in effect once again for Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer that ushers in a slew of warm-weather festivities.
According to the vacation rental company, unauthorized parties have never been permitted at its many listings — and nearly three-fourths of Airbnb hosts prohibit parties in their house rules already.
It wasn’t until August 2020 that the platform officially announced its temporary global party ban to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Later in June 2022, Airbnb doubled down on the party ban due to its effectiveness, establishing it as a permanent policy.
Since implementing the party-prevention system in 2020, Airbnb says there has been a 55% year-over-two-year decline in party reports.
In addition to the widespread ban, the rental company modifies its booking system ahead of popular party holidays including Halloween, New Year’s Eve, Fourth of July, and of course, Memorial Day.
Airbnb’s ‘anti-party crackdown’ system blocks users from booking one-night or two-night reservations for ‘potentially higher-risk’ homes. Those who do successfully book a reservation must verify that they understand the party ban, and if the ban is violated, the guest could be suspended or permanently removed from the Airbnb platform.
“The system looks at factors relating to the guest’s account and their booking attempt that may indicate a higher risk for a disruptive or unauthorized party incident, like whether the guest has a history of positive reviews (or lack of positive reviews), the distance to the listing, whether the booking is last-minute, among other considerations,” the company said.
When the anti-party crackdown was implemented last Memorial Day weekend, Airbnb says over 200 people were blocked from booking reservations in Oregon.
The home-sharing company also has a 24/7 Neighborhood Support Line that people can use to report a disruptive party in their area.
