Airbnb Is Blocking Some July 4 Reservations to Prevent Potential House Parties
Airbnb will block guests without a history of good reviews from booking an entire home for single night stays in the United States for the July 4 holiday, the company shared with Travel + Leisure.
"As the July 4 weekend approaches, we are deploying more stringent restrictions on one and two-night reservations that may pose heightened risk for parties," Airbnb wrote in a statement detailing their 8-point "Summer of Responsible Travel" plan.
The decision, part of the home share company's larger effort to crack down on house parties, was made after Airbnb "learned that July 4 is being pegged as the 'reopening' date in the US." Guests who do have a "history of positive reviews on Airbnb" as well as those who already booked one-night reservations will not be affected.
Airbnb — which is expecting a summer travel boom — is also adding Spanish to its Neighborhood Support hotline, which people can call to "flag issues to our trained agents in real-time," as well as offering discounts on noise detection devices to Superhosts. Those who use these devices must disclose them in their listing, Airbnb said.
Additionally, the company will aim to make house rules (think quiet hours and occupancy limits) more prominent by moving them higher up on listing pages.
"This helps communicate those important rules loud and clear while aligning expectations between Hosts and guests to try to ensure respectful treatment of properties and neighbors during stays," Airbnb wrote.
In 2019, Airbnb vowed to implement stricter rules on house parties following a fatal shooting at a rental property in California and has since blocked people without a history of good reviews from making one-night reservations on more than one occasion, including New Year's Eve and Halloween.
In July, Airbnb said it would also stop renting entire homes to guests in the U.S. under 25 years old with less than three positive reviews or a negative review.
Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.
