Airbnb for the past year has actively blocked short-term rentals it suspects might be used to host large parties, the kind that upset hosts, disturb neighborhoods, and give the industry a bad name.
“If you are under the age of 25 and you don’t have a history of positive reviews, we will not allow you to book an entire home listing local to where you live,” said Ben Breit, head of trust and safety communication with San Francisco-based Airbnb.
A year in, the technology Airbnb deployed has blocked or redirected potentially risky reservation attempts from more than 2,600 people in Denver, he said. By comparison, the company has blocked 5,000 suspicious bookings in Phoenix; 4,500 each in Las Vegas and Seattle; 2,600 in Portland, Ore.; 1,800 in Salt Lake City and 1,500 in Albuquerque.
“The system actually blocks that reservation. It doesn’t allow it to go through,” Breit said.
The system won’t block a young adult trying to rent in a distant city or who is renting a smaller space locally, say a two-bedroom condo, which isn’t particularly conducive to holding a rave anyway. Breit said the rental block extends beyond Denver city limits, but declined to say how far away so as not to tip off wannabe party hosts.
Last summer, Airbnb banned all “disruptive” parties and events at its listed properties and later extended that ban through the end of this summer, when it will reassess. It also capped the number of guests at any rental at 16, even if the home has the potential to accommodate more.
“The bigger issue and what we care most about is trying to stop any kind of disruptive gathering. The open invite gatherings are a big priority for us, the ones where the host of the party doesn’t know everyone who is showing up,” he said.
In January 2020, two Denver homeowners surrendered their short-term rental licenses after guests they rented to hosted parties that ended up with reports of gunfire.
Denver has received about half as many complaints regarding short-term rental properties this year through May as it did in the first five months of 2020 — 126 versus 61, according to statistics provided by the city’s Department of Excise and Licenses.
It is unclear to what degree that drop in complaints reflects Airbnb’s crackdown on party rentals, fewer home rentals overall due to the pandemic, and the decline in active short-term rental licenses in Denver.
Since March 19, 2020, those licenses have dropped 22% in Denver, from 2,575 active licenses to 2,006 current licenses, said Eric Escudero, Denver’s director of communications in Excise and Licenses.
Denver has some of the strictest rules in the country regarding short-term rentals, requiring hosts to live in a property they rent out and not just own it.
“Requiring a home to be a primary residence also often leads to more responsible short-term renters because they are at the property and prevent loud parties that disturb neighborhoods from occurring. We believe we have one of the most successfully regulated short-term rental markets in America,” Escudero said.
He estimates that the city’s compliance rate for licensing is around 80%, adding the city has an active program to find property owners who aren’t complying.
Since 2019, the city has had the power to revoke a short-term rental license for properties that negatively impact the health, safety and welfare of a neighborhood. In March 2019, the city revoked the license of Garth Yettick, owner of Marion Manor, after neighbors complained about excessive partying at the Country Club home, valued at around $5 million at the time.
This July 4th weekend, Airbnb is ratcheting down even more as part of its “Summer of Responsible Travel.” U.S. guests, regardless of age, who lack a history of positive reviews can’t make a one-night reservation of a home listing during the holiday weekend, whether the rental is local or not.
“The message we are trying to get across for our community is that we want you to have a good time, to reconnect and travel, but we want you to do it safely and responsibly,” Breit said. “A big part of that is being respectful of properties and of neighbors.”
Although most owners prefer their homes not host any big parties, some view party rentals as a money-making opportunity. Airbnb is teaming up with VRBO, another leading provider of short-term rentals, to block repeat “party house” offenders by preventing them from jumping around to different platforms under the Community Integrity Program.
