SAN DIEGO — Airbnb announced the company is implementing heightened rules and booking restrictions aimed at stopping parties at San Diego Airbnbs over the holidays.
This is especially a concern for New Year’s Eve. The company said it had a similar program as a trial last year, and stopped about 2,800 people from booking an Airbnb during New Year’s Eve in 2021, over a concern of parties.
The company is banning one-night bookings for entire Airbnb homes for guests that don’t have a positive account history, with positive reviews. The company says if there is a booker without reviews, or negative reviews, they will likely not be able to book a one-night stay over the New Year’s Eve weekend.
“If I live in San Diego and I’m trying to book a 6 bedroom home in La Jolla, you don’t have any reviews on Airbnb, that’s the type of reservation we are probably going to be stopping,” Ben Breit, Airbnb Director of Trust and Safety Communications said. “We ban parties, we do not want parties happening in our properties, our hosts, even before we implemented this policy, particularly in an area like San Diego they don’t want parties happening either, they don’t want the property damage that can come.”
The company said in 2021, they blocked about 340,000 people across the world from booking an Airbnb over the holiday.
“If you do not have a history of positive reviews or you have no reviews on Airbnb, you just don’t yet have that positive track record on Airbnb, you’re not going to be able to make a one-night booking for New Year’s Eve, and there are certain measures as well for two-night or three-night reservations.”
