No house parties: Airbnb bans Halloween bookings in US and Canada

Entire venue, one-night reservations are temporarily banned 'amid concerns about a second wave of the pandemic'

Airbnb has banned one-night, entire venue stays over Halloween weekend in an effort to clamp down on house parties. Courtesy Airbnb

Airbnb is taking steps to prevent one-night Halloween house parties by temporarily banning some bookings in the United States and Canada.

The accommodation rental platform is prohibiting "Entire Venue" stays for any single night over the Halloween weekend.

One-night bookings are no longer allowed for any such venues across North America on Friday, October 30 or Saturday, October 31. Any previously made reservations that fit under this category will be cancelled and users will be refunded. Hosts who had previously accepted such bookings will be paid by Airbnb.

The San Francisco company said it was introducing the measure "to strengthen our hosts’ protection against parties amid concerns about a second wave of the pandemic".

Additional Halloween restrictions

There are also restrictions on bookings for longer than one night over the coming holiday weekend. Airbnb will prohibit last-minute bookings on two- and three-night stays unless the guest has a history of positive reviews on the site. It will also issue reminders that parties are not allowed to anyone checking into an Airbnb between Wednesday, October 28, and Sunday, November 1.

Anyone who flouts the rules will be banned from Airbnb's site and could face legal action.

Last year, the accommodation rental platform previously banned parties on Airbnb bookings, but one-night stays in houses capable of hosting large numbers of people were still allowed. In light of Covid-19, maximum occupancy limits have now been set at 16 people.

There will also be more Airbnb agents manning the company's 24-hour neighbourhood support line this Halloween to tackle any complaints. The support line was set up last year to deal with issues raised by neighbours of Airbnb properties.

Last year, a Halloween party at an Airbnb house in California was the site of a shooting in which five people died.