Airbnb expands anti-party restrictions to include Memorial Day weekend

Airbnb is expanding its anti-party measures this summer to include Memorial Day weekend for the first time.

In August 2020, the vacation rental company instituted a global party ban, capping occupancy at 16 people and prohibiting all disruptive parties and events. 

In 2021, Airbnb introduced a system to prevent unauthorized parties during the July 4th weekend, which the company says led to a substantial decrease in reports of disruptive and unauthorized parties. Airbnb says that in Austin, over 1,600 people were deterred from booking entire home listings that weekend due to this system.

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Airbnb is reinstating this system for July 4th this year and expanding it to include Memorial Day weekend.

The following criteria will be in place for guests attempting to book reservations over both holiday weekends in the US, including Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands:

  • For one-night reservations — Guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb will be prohibited from making one-night reservations in entire home listings
  • For two-night reservations — More stringent restrictions will go into effect on certain two-night reservation attempts, including restricting certain local or last-minute bookings by guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb

Guests who have a history of positive reviews on Airbnb will not be subject to these restrictions.

The company will also be requiring guests attempting to make local reservations to affirmatively attest that they understand Airbnb bans parties. Airbnb says that breaking the rule may leave the guest subject to legal action from the company.

Airbnb also has a Neighborhood Support Line, which provides a forum for neighbors to flag a party in progress at a home they believe is listed on Airbnb in real time. The company's safety team then will work to support the neighbor and work with law enforcement where appropriate and take action against those responsible for the party, says Airbnb. The support line includes a 24/7 hotline in the US.