Airbnb Cracks Down On Atlantic County 'Party Houses'

ATLANTIC COUNTY, NJ — Airbnb says the party's over. The company has suspended or removed at least three listings in Atlantic County as it cracks down on "party houses."

Airbnb penalized 35 listings across New Jersey, including properties in Atlantic City, Brigantine and Ventnor City who they say violated the rules.

The company didn't provide addresses for the listings out of respect for the privacy of hosts and homeowners, a company spokesperson said. They also didn't clarify which cities had more than one affected listing.

Airbnb banned "party houses" in December. The policy doesn't impact host-authorized parties with responsible guests but is meant to address "the small number of guests who act irresponsibly and those rare hosts whose homes become persistent neighborhood nuisances," a press release said.

The policy includes a ban on "open-invite" events and prohibiting large parties large events in multi-family properties, including apartment buildings.

But the "party house" rules take on new significance because of public-health concerns during the coronavirus pandemic.

New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters.

“We stand with Governor Murphy, and we support his call to action to stop parties and promote behavior that respects the public’s health,” said Chris Lehane, Airbnb's senior vice president of global policy and communications. “We ban party houses and will not tolerate irresponsible behavior on our platform."

Airbnb launched a 24/7 Neighborhood Support Hotline last year. Neighbors can call a rapid-response team with their concerns. Issues raised through this hotline led to many of the listing suspensions Airbnb announced.

Read more: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Galloway Patch. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com.