WORLDWIDE BAN: Airbnb says no more house parties

Airbnb is placing a ban on house parties in order to adhere to social gathering limits put in place throughout the world to restrict the spread of coronavirus, according to Global News.

The home sharing company added that its rental homes can be occupied by no more than 16 people, though exceptions may be available for boutique hotels and event venues.

The San Francisco-based company said that if guests violate the ban, it may take legal action against them. Airbnb took legal action—for the first time—last week against a guest who threw a party in California.

Airbnb said that the closure of nightclubs and bars has increased the amount of large house parties, which sometimes take place at its rentals. Unauthorized parties have always been prohibited by Airbnb, who said they are explicitly banned by close to 75 percent of its listings.

The company began taking rental parties more seriously after a fatal shooting took place at one of its California homes, leaving five people dead.

Airbnb began manually looking over Canadian and US reservations last November to find suspicious rentals, and the program was also implemented in Australia last week.

Canadian and US guests that had less than three positive reviews and were below 25-years-old were banned by the company in July. The policy was put in place in France, Spain and the United Kingdom last week.

The 12-year-old company, which has over 7 million listings, said that it wants to adhere to public health mandates such as the ban on gatherings involving people from different households in Los Angeles County.

The company is also looking into a hotline that will allow neighbours to report parties that have not been authorized.

"We do not want that type of business, and anyone engaged in or allowing that behaviour does not belong on our platform," Airbnb noted in a post on the company's website.