CLEVELAND — In an attempt to combat unauthorized parties while supporting health and safety in communities across the country, Airbnb has implemented an initiative restricting who can book entire home listings.
The initiative, which was launched earlier this year in Canada, restricts guests under the age of 25 with less than three positive rental reviews from booking entire home listings in their local area.
For example, if a 20-year-old from Cleveland tries to book an entire home listing in the city of Cleveland for a night, the Airbnb website or app would not allow that booking to process unless the individual had no negative reviews and at least three positive reviews. That person could still book an entire home listing if they were to travel outside of their locality, such as a trip to Columbus.
Private rooms and hotels can still be booked by guests under the age of 25, and guests who are younger than 25 with positive reviews can still book entire home listings in their area, according to Airbnb.
“There will always be people who work to find ways around our trust and safety protections, and we know that people over the age of 24 are perfectly capable of booking a home for the wrong reasons, too. But based on the positive impact this policy has had on unauthorized parties booked by guests under 25, we believe this is the right action to continue to protect the safety of our community,” Airbnb said in a press release.
The initiative comes on the heels of the July 4 holiday weekend approaching and the social distancing efforts across the country to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
Airbnb announced last year that the company had banned “party houses” following a deadly shooting in California.
RELATED: Airbnb bans 'party houses' following a California shooting that killed 5 people
