Travel
Airbnb Prevents 1-Night July 4 Weekend Rentals 'In Georgia'
The online short-term vacation rental platform Airbnb points to Atlanta as it sets rules to prevent listings from being used for parties.
ATLANTA — As temperatures warm and, COVID-19 vaccinations flow, and travel restrictions relax, travel rental company Airbnb is calling a preemptive party foul months ahead of July 4.
If you throw a raucous party at one of the homes rented through the platform, company officials will definitely cry “foul.”
Airbnb is looking at you, Atlanta.
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A key part of the travel platform’s “Summer of Responsible Travel” plan is to block on one-night reservations during the Fourth of July weekend “of entire home listings in Georgia and throughout the U.S.,” a company spokesman said in an email sent to Patch Atlanta.
While the email was addressed to Patch in the state’s capital, perhaps as recognition of Georgia first as opposed to simply (and curiously) singling out the Peach state, the message followed by pointing out that dozens of Atlanta area Airbnb homes broke the “no party home” rules last summer and linked to an August story on AJC.com.
Find out what's happening in Atlantafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
“This announcement follows a number of recent initiatives from Airbnb to prioritize safety in Georgia, including the suspension or removal of 50 listings throughout Atlanta which violated our policies on parties and events,” the email said.
The less-than-subtle message is that parties in Airbnb properties are taboo. Out of bounds. Banned. Unwelcomed. Prohibited. Not allowed.
More specifically, the policy underscores a strict prohibition on gatherings of more than 16 people, and all disruptive parties and events.
Those renters in violation face suspension or removal from the platform. And property owners who are determined to have condoned such events could, as the AJC pointed out, have their listings removed from Airbnb.
A 24/7 hotline was activated in 2019, according to the AJC, to give concerned neighbors a means to report rental home scofflaws and party foulers. Other enigmatic methods are being conjured by the travel platform to preclude partying.
“In addition to strengthening our rules around parties, we’re also working to try and proactively stop disruptive parties before they even start by strengthening our risk-detection technologies,” the policy said.
It’s unclear exactly what that means, but it probably isn’t worth the risk.
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