Airbnb has blocked the possibility of booking an entire home for a single-night stay on July 4th. The company explained that the rationale behind the decision was to reduce the possibility of guests organizing large house parties at a time when the risk of getting infected with Covid-19 remains high. An exception applies to guests who have had a history of good reviews.
As the July 4 weekend approaches, we are deploying more stringent restrictions on one and two-night reservations that may pose heightened risk for parties
Airbnb
In a statement, the company wrote, “We’ve learned that July 4 is being pegged as the ‘reopening’ date in the US, which is great for the country as well as for the Airbnb community. We also know that public health and safety experts are still saying mass gatherings should not happen. That’s why we’re introducing new rules aimed at helping to prevent unauthorized parties over the 4th of July, similar to the successful initiatives implemented during Halloween and New Year’s Eve.”
The company will leverage the use of technology which restricts certain local and last-minute bookings by guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb and also block reservations within an expanded radius. House rules, including quiet hours and occupancy limits, will be moved higher up on the listing pages to highlight their importance.
The ‘Summer of Responsible Travel’, as the company has labeled the initiative, aims to encourage travelers to follow the regulations implemented to contain the spread of Covid-19, and to behave responsibly. In anticipation of a surge in bookings for the summer season, the company added a Neighborhood Support hotline, which customers can use to report issues to trained agents in real-time.
This hotline has helped us enforce our party ban and played a big role in enforcing our policies banning ‘party houses’ throughout the US in places like Los Angeles, Florida, Texas and more
Airbnb
Superhosts can also use the service for renting noise-detection devices, though their use must be disclosed in the property listing. Some of Airbnb’s Covid-19 Safety Practices include wearing a mask, practicing social distancing, and, for hosts and their teams, to abide by the five-step enhanced cleaning.
