Airbnb permanently bans parties after testing the policy when COVID began

You don't have to go home, but you can't party here: Airbnb hosts, everywhere.

Airbnb, the short-term rental app, announced Tuesday that it would permanently ban parties. Lots of hosts have long barred their guests from having large events, but now the platform itself has instituted the ban.

Airbnb first put a temporary kibosh on parties when the COVID pandemic began in 2020. The policy was put in effect "until further notice" because folks were using rentals to party when bars and restaurants shut down. With the announcement Tuesday, Airbnb decided the ban has worked, not only as a COVID-prevention measure but also as a tool for the overall health of the service.

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"Over time, the party banbecame much more than a public health measure. It developed into a bedrock community policy to support our Hosts and their neighbors," the company wrote in a press release. "Moreover — it’s been working. We believe there is a direct correlation between our implementation of the policy in August 2020 and a 44% year-over-year drop in the rate of party reports." 

The policy both bans parties andstrictly prohibits Airbnb properties that effectively function as party houses. The company said it banned a little more than 6,600 guests last year who attempted to skirt the party policy.

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While the party ban has become permanent, Airbnb did lift a restriction on the number of guests a property can host. When the temporary party ban was instituted, it included a 16-guest occupancy cap. Airbnb has lifted that cap, saying there are some properties that can comfortably house — or even rely on housing — 16 or more people.