Airbnb bans all house parties and events

Parties are now prohibited on all bookings on rental homes and is limiting occupancy to 16 people.

Because coronavirus-related closures of bars and nightclubs has led to an increase in big house parties, Airbnb is restricting rentals to prevent parties that can draw large crowds.

Airbnb said it may pursue legal action against guests and hosts who violate the ban. Last week, for the first time, Airbnb took legal action against a guest who held an unauthorized party in Sacramento County, California.

Unauthorized parties have always been prohibited at Airbnb listings, according to the company. Airbnb said it also plans to expand a hotline for neighbors to report unauthorized parties.

Last November, Airbnb started manually reviewing U.S. and Canadian reservations to weed out suspicious rentals, like a guest who booked a one-night stay close to their home. It expanded that program to Australia last week.

In July, Airbnb banned U.S. and Canadian guests under age 25 with fewer than three positive reviews from booking entire homes close to where they live. It expanded that policy to the United Kingdom, Spain and France last week.

Airbnb says around 2% of the 7 million properties listed on its site can accommodate 16 or more people. There are at least 53 in London, 277 in Beijing, 170 in New York and 116 in Los Angeles, according to the company’s website.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.