Airbnb extended ban on house parties / events and Limits Max Guest to 16. Temporarily implemented in Aug 2020

[David997]

In May the BBC stated:

"Airbnb has extended a ban on house parties until at least the end of summer (2021) despite easing Covid restrictions in some countries."

I was caught out and didn't realise this had not been rescinded yet, until a guest pointed out the issue 4 days before they were due to arrive.

I have a venue that has interior space of 800m2 and accommodates 21 people. It is outright stupid to suggest that this is in anyway unsuitable for just large gatherings. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57272204

[Sarah977]

@David997  It isn't that your space is unsuitable for large gatherings, it's that Airbnb as a platform is unsuitable for large gatherings. 

There are other sites where you can list places which are suitable for events and which are specific to that use.

Airbnb wasn't set up for that- it is for accommodation purposes, not for events.

[David997]

But I'm not hosting events? I'm offering a manor house with 8 bedrooms that can accomodate currently upto 21 people in the house of circa 800-900m2. 

[Laura2592]

@David997 I'm confused.  Are you upset because you can't list your space for parties here? Or because guests want to throw parties in your space?

Try peerspace or thumbtack if you want to market your home for anything other than a place to sleep.  You will leave money on the table otherwise. Airbnb does not allow you to charge for catering,  decor, damage or extra cleaning,  music etc.

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  If you take a look at his listing and the reviews that have been left for it, it seems that it's a place he's successfully rented for a long time that gets used for family reunions and such- in other words, just large groups who need a large space, and are also all sleeping there, rather than being used for what are considered party houses that disturb the neighbors.

So I can sort of understand why he'd be upset, if none of his guests have ever used the place as what most people would think of as a party house.

However, he is also seemingly not understanding why a 21 person rental is not considered to be okay re Covid precautions.

[David997]

In germany the corona legislation governing guest stays is driven by the various states. The current guidance for Meck Pomm where this property is situated is for a maximum of 30 people, and has been since July 2021.

However for larger properties the Airbnb party guidelines just don't make sense, and the policy wording is just not appropriate. 

[Inna22]

@David997 does a five person difference truly affect you? Are there other sites or you can list? My properties are very large as well. I rarely have a group big enough to fill it to capacity. Vrbo and booking.com have no limits so big groups can book there. Both of those allow me to hold a true security deposit which it’s a much better way of hosting a bigger crowd anyway.

[David997]

Absolutely it does effect me, and other large venues.  Airbnb openly supported larger groups up until July 2020, and I had been operating since Nov 2018 this particular venue.  It is completely arbitrary figure with zero thought given to the size of venues it impacts. I agree with why the events policy was implemented, my issue is that it is just so poorly thought through and could easily adopt a headcount limit based on the numbers of bedrooms in a venue (given airbnb already holds this information). Also these types of venues aren't depriving the local population of rental homes unlike the 4 bed properties that stack 16 people in.

[Inna22]

@David997 I do think it is a good idea to put the limit based on beds. This would help hosts with smaller places as well. There are so many complaints here from hosts who are set up for 2-4 about guests bringing extra guests. A group of 15 in a one bedroom condo is sometimes a bigger issue than a group of 40 in a free standing mansion. 

I do remember reading in the small print that if you are a venue or have other special circumstances you can authorize a bigger group. Make sure you read all the rules

[Sarah977]

@David997  It is obviously more to their benefit in Airbnb's thinking to counteract bad publicity by banning anything that could lend itself to a rager party, or a super spreader event, than to look at each large listing's history and take it on a case by case basis. 

And to be fair, Airbnb can't tailor its policies to each individual jurisdiction's Covid regs as there are tens, if not hundreds of thousands of different regs all over the world that are subject to change at any given time, depending on the infection rates.

It's kind of senseless, because even homes that only list a maximum guest count of 6 or 8 have been the victims of out-of- control parties with 100 people in attendance, the police called, and extensive damages incurred.

And although there definitely are hosts who do have party houses that constantly disturb and enrage neighbors and the hosts don't seem to care at all, the majority of hosts would do whatever they could to prevent renting to these party animals. Who wants their house trashed? 

You know these party and event bans came about because of fatal shootings at Airbnb "party houses", right? 

I can't imagine you'd risk such things with such an amazing property, but I doubt you'll convince Airbnb of that, nor would they listen.