Airbnb has launched a new safety initiative to prevent parties in Canada over New Year’s Eve amid the pandemic.
Starting on December 3rd, guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb will be prohibited from making one night reservations for entire-home listings on New Year’s Eve throughout Canada.
The company says that guests who have a history of positive reviews on Airbnb will not be subject to this restriction.
“We will allow already booked 1-night reservations to go through as planned, as our data has historically shown that 1-night New Year’s Eve bookings made prior to now very rarely lead to unauthorized parties,” Airbnb stated in an emailed press release.
Airbnb notes that this initiative follows a similar one piloted in Canada over Halloween that went successfully.
Further, the company says that all guests with bookings must attest that they will not throw an unauthorized party and that they may be pursued legally by Airbnb if they break the rules.
“Airbnb will be operating a virtual command center to get ahead of any issues, along with trained safety agents on call throughout New Year’s Eve,” the press release notes.
It will also restrict certain local and last-minute bookings by guests without a history of positive reviews and also block reservations within an expanded radius.
