Airbnb Extends New Year’s Eve Party Crackdown

Airbnb announced on Monday that it is expanding recently enacted safety measures to curtail New Year’s Eve parties.

The vacation rental giant said it is prohibiting guests without a history of positive reviews on the platform from making three-night reservations for entire houses, an extension from the one night bookings it had previously banned for such guests.

“We believe this will bolster our efforts to support the communities in which we operate over New Year’s Eve weekend,” said company spokesperson Ben Breit.

Airbnb had launched a plan in early November to crack down on New Year’s Eve parties, in which it also said it was implementing tighter restrictions on two-night reservations that it believed could result in disruptive events. The company said it would also use technology to help restrict certain local and last-minute bookings by guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb.

Breit said regarding the three-night reservations, the company would utilize the same technology and restrictions already in place for two-night bookings. However, Breit said guests with a history of positive reviews on Airbnb are not subject to the new restrictions.

Airbnb’s new regulations are the latest in its efforts to crack down on its properties being used for parties. The company recently announced that it would be sharing information with rival Vrbo in order to better identify locations frequently listed as party houses, which has emerged as a major issue in the vacation rental industry.