Airbnb Warns Guests Not To Throw Parties In Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA — Sometimes you gotta fight for your right to party, but now is not the time, Airbnb warned clients thinking of renting a party house in Los Angeles during the pandemic. The short-term rental giant issued a stern warning against using its properties to host gatherings that violate social distancing guidelines at Los Angeles-area properties.

As the state begins relaxing shutdown orders and stir-crazy families begin making summer vacation plans, short-term rentals, which have been shut down in some Southern California cities, are expected to pick back up again. Airbnb and other short-term rental companies are striving to balance the safety of the communities they serve with the threat of the pandemic.

"The month of May brings with it many moments worth celebrating for Angelenos -- from high school and college graduations to Memorial Day weekend festivities," it noted in a statement.

"Under typical circumstances, Airbnb empowers our hosts to set house rules on events and parties that are appropriate for their communities. However, these are very different times, and public health must come first. To that end, we have previously announced that we will not allow for hosts to authorize parties and events in regions where current public health mandates prohibit events and gatherings."

While Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced that the state is entering Stage 2 of reopening, bans on gatherings and mandates on social distancing remain in effect, and therefore our new policy means we are not allowing any type of party in Los Angeles until further notice.

"We want to be very clear -- not only will we ban guests who attempt to throw an unauthorized party in a Los Angeles area Airbnb listing, we will be cooperating with LAPD and other law enforcement authorities in any investigations relating to parties and violations of public health mandates, consistent with our Terms of Service."

The statement recalled that in January, Airbnb announced the removal of 28 listings at properties in the Hollywood Hills identified by the Los Angeles Police Department as "chronic party houses" that created a substantial nuisance.

Additionally, it said, "we have reinforced this policy by temporarily disabling the `event-friendly' search filter, which is typically used so that guests can seek out venues for responsible parties and gatherings. We continue to temporarily remove the `parties and events allowed' rule from the House Rules of any Los Angeles area listings that formerly authorized parties."

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.