Airbnb has permanently banned parties and events at homes on its platform, after a temporary measure during the pandemic proved popular with hosts.
The firm says the rule has become “much more than a public health measure” since it was introduced in August 2020.
“It developed into a bedrock community policy to support our hosts and their neighbours,” the San Francisco-headquartered firm said.
However, it also removed a limit on how many people can stay at homes.
Airbnb said in a statement that the number of complaints about parties dropped by 44% since the measure was first introduced.
Exceptions to the global ban may be made for “specialty and traditional hospitality venues” in the future, it added.
Airbnb also said it would remove a limit on the number of people its listings are allowed to accommodate at any one time.
It previously imposed a 16 person limit to occupants because of concerns over the spread of Covid-19.
The firm said “several types of larger homes are capable of comfortably and safely housing more than 16 people – from castles in Europe to vineyards in the US to large beachfront villas in the Caribbean”.
“Removing this cap is meant to allow those hosts to responsibly utilise the space in their homes while still complying with our ban on disruptive parties,” it said.
The rule had first been introduced in 2019 after a fatal shooting at a Halloween party in a house in California that saw five people die. Then in August 2020 when COVID-19 ravaged the globe, a temporary ban was introduced to curb parties as a public health measure.
According to Airbnb, they noticed the temporary ban became effective as it completely reduced rowdiness. “Over time, the party ban became much more than a public health measure. It developed into a bedrock community policy,” the company said.
“This new and long-term policy was enacted to help encourage and support community safety,” Airbnb said.
“We look forward to sharing updates in the coming weeks and months on our efforts to complement our community policies on parties,” it added.