New guests unable to book my home? Party Policy?

[Eric4762]

Recently, there was a guest that was trying to book my home. They were told by Airbnb that they were unable to do this because they, the individual, didn't meet the newly established criteria (which was not COVID based). They were told that if they meet any of the following criteria, they can't book an entire home, whic is what we have: a.) under 25, b.) same locale  or c.) 3 or fewer reviews. The individual was 27, from 2 hours away, and had no reviews. He was just looking for a place for New Years with his friend group. 

Previously, there were two groups of 10 able to book my home, one in March, and one in April, but I think Airbnb denied his request because the request was on Dec. 1 for Dec. 30. Was this range too close to the booking date? I don't agree with this policy, but was wondering if any other hosts have any input that suggests this policy to be a good one or a bad policy? 

I saw it as something that frustrated a new customer to Airbnb, and lost prospective revenue on my end as well. 

Eric - Wisconsin USA

[Sarah977]

This policy was created because those are the metrics that Airbnb gathered when looking at the most frequent factors that led to out-of-control party scenes. Personally, I don't think it's a bad policy, although of course it could affect legitimate bookings from guests who have no intention of throwing a party.

But in the case of this guest, I would say that you dodged a bullet. First of all, how do you know this person is 27? Just because they told you that? Airbnb knows how old they are from their ID data, you don't.

And a local, new to the platform, with no reviews, booking an entire house for New Year's Eve is very likely to be a party scene, with far more than the 10 guests you allow. Most hosts wouldn't accept a booking like that anyway- too many red flags.

And don't know how it is where you live, but presently there are regulations in most places limiting gatherings to less than a certain amount of people and/or all from the same household due to COVID.

@Eric4762