Airbnb introduces restrictions in Canada to avoid New Year holidays

TORONTO – A few days after the discovery of a large party at one of its rental properties, Airbnb says it has a plan to curb the New Year holidays this year as Canada works to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

In addition to the ongoing ban on parties, Airbnb now says guests will need a history of positive reviews on its app to book an entire home for New Year’s Eve in Canada. The policy also extends to the United States, Mexico, Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Spain.

“We believe this plan will help prevent large gatherings by supporting the kind of safe and responsible travel for the benefit of the guests, hosts and neighborhoods they call home,” the company said.

Airbnb is making an exception for one-night bookings made through Tuesday, based on data suggesting that bookings made before the start of December rarely involve parties.

The app is loosening its standards from a similar policy on Halloween, allowing users with previous positive reviews to book a home for one night. Although the Halloween booking restriction was successful, Airbnb said it changed course after feedback from hosts in the US and Canada.

Airbnb also said it will put stricter policies in place as the new year approaches, using technology that blocks certain types of last-minute bookings. Users with no past positive reviews looking to book a nearby home at the last minute will be targeted by the app.

Anyone who books through the app will also have to agree not to throw unauthorized parties before booking, the company said. The company also plans to equip a command center with “trained security officers” throughout New Year’s Eve to “anticipate any problems.”

The Airbnb announcement comes after Peel’s deputy police chief Marc Andrews said a short-term rental unit was the site of a 60-person party last weekend, resulting in thousands of fines. dollars to revelers who have violated COVID-19 restrictions.

“Airbnb bans parties and the reported behavior is outrageous,” said Airbnb policy spokesman Nathan Rotman of the weekend party’s failure.

“We are in contact with Mississauga officials to offer our support and have suspended the list as we investigate further.”

The city of Toronto is also limiting short-term rental bookings as part of the province’s gray lockout period, which began on November 23, said Alex Burke, senior communications consultant for the city of Toronto. Toronto allows short-term rental bookings made before November 22, but prohibits any new bookings in the city except for those requiring accommodation. The Peel region also falls under the gray lockout rules on short term rentals.

The lockdown phase, which has been in place for at least 28 days, also means people are advised to limit contact to their family members and leave the home for essential activities only, Burke said.

“Airbnb’s efforts to limit bookings to curb New Year’s Eve parties this year promote these goals and will help protect our community during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Burke said.

Toronto was one of Airbnb’s top 10 cities by revenue last year, according to the company’s public offering documents, and the city cracked down on short-term rentals by having hosts register and accept certain rules.

In a Thursday webinar on Airbnb’s upcoming IPO and regulations to ensure affordable housing in Canada, some local advocacy groups criticized the company’s efforts. JJ Fueser, a member of the Fairbnb Canada group, said the company has not done enough to prevent large rallies during the pandemic.

“Airbnb says they no longer rent houses for parties, but every other day you find them delisting by a hundred units in one city or another,” said Dale Carlson, a member of similar US group Share Better, which monitored a cause on a shoot at a Halloween party in California.

Fueser did not directly address the New Year policy released by Airbnb on Thursday. But when asked about the company’s potential liability to the “superspreader” parties, Fueser said his group is pushing Canadian lawmakers to make sure there are no loopholes in the rules for Airbnbs.

“It will be interesting to watch,” Carlson said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on December 3, 2020.