The Airbnb rental platform is tightening the screws on debauchers who want to smash the year with a bang.
Thinking of renting a house or apartment just for New Year’s Eve, so you can have a blast with your friends? For many, you will have to forget that.
Airbnb is implementing restrictions that will allow owners to decline certain types of bookings during New Year’s Eve. Among others:
- A ban on bookings for New Year’s Eve alone in entire homes, for travelers with no history of positive Airbnb reviews — or no previous bookings — on the platform.
- Strict restrictions for these same travelers who would like to book stays of two or three nights, in particular in the event of a request for reservations near their home.
3900 less parties in Quebec
“Airbnb introduced in 2020 bans for parties in general, in Canada, Quebec and elsewhere in the world. Since then, Canada has seen an almost 50% drop in the rate of parties reported to Airbnb,” said Matt McNama, Canadian communications manager for Airbnb, by email.
“Last year, our various ‘anti-party’ defenses blocked 19,000 reservations for entire homes during New Year’s Eve in Canada, including more than 3,900 in Quebec,” he adds.
New this year is the addition of restrictions for those trying to book multi-night stays in accommodation close to home.
These proactive measures were launched for the first time in France, in 2020.
Loud parties
It will be recalled that in November 2020, Airbnb had suspended or removed nearly 50 accommodations in Montreal which had been the subject of complaints by violating the regulations of the platform.
In the same vein, the San Francisco company had announced measures to limit rentals made locally by customers under 25 years of age.
In recent years, many citizens in Quebec have been bothered by parties that regularly continue until the wee hours of the morning, in accommodations of all kinds, including luxury condos and penthouses downtown.