Airbnb suspends 800 party houses in crackdown on antisocial behaviour
Airbnb has suspended more than 800 UK property listings as part of a crackdown on party houses.
More than 13,500 booking requests have also been blocked as part of a pilot to prevent under-25s to rent homes close to where they live in a bid to stop anti-social behaviour.
Airbnb removed listings that have received complaints or violated policies on parties from its property rental platform.
Meanwhile, the holiday home app issued a “zero tolerance” warning on mass gatherings as England entered its second coronavirus lockdown.
Yesterday, Airbnb, which is planning to go public as early as next week, announced that it would be restricting bookings in England for the duration of the lockdown, which is expected to last for at least four weeks.
Bookings made for stays up to 2 December will be subject to temporary restrictions, such as only allowing legally exempt-long term lets.
Airbnb director of public policy Patrick Robinson said: “We want to be clear beyond doubt that we have zero tolerance for antisocial behaviour on Airbnb.
“The vast majority of hosts and guests are good neighbours and we are determined to weed out bad actors.
“Our measures are working and as the UK goes back into lockdown, our priority is to be good partners to communities and to help everyone stay safe.”
The firm last month suggested it was aiming to raise around $3bn (£2.3bn) from a stock market listing, with the hopes of achieving a valuation of more than $30bn subject to market conditions.
In 2019 Airbnb said it intended to go public by the end of this year, raising hopes of an IPO blockbuster in an already booming year for public listings.