Airbnb blocks 2,600 young adults from renting ‘party’ homes in Denver – The Denver Post

Over the past year, Airbnb has actively blocked short-term rentals that it suspects are being used to host large parties, the kinds that annoy hosts, disrupt neighborhoods and give the hotel a bad reputation. industry.

“If you’re under 25 and don’t have a history of positive reviews, we won’t allow you to reserve a full listing of homes near you,” said Ben Breit, communications manager. on trust and security at San Francisco-based Airbnb.

A year later, technology deployed by Airbnb blocked or redirected potentially risky booking attempts by more than 2,600 people in Denver, he said. By comparison, the company blocked 5,000 suspicious reservations in Phoenix; 4,500 each in Las Vegas and Seattle; 2,600 in Portland, Oregon; 1,800 in Salt Lake City and 1,500 in Albuquerque.

“The system is actually blocking this reservation. It doesn’t allow him to pass, ”said Breit.

The system won’t block a young adult trying to rent in a remote town or renting a smaller space locally, say a two-bedroom condo, which isn’t particularly conducive to having a rave anyway. Breit said the rental block extends beyond the Denver city limits, but declined to say how far so as not to warn future hosts of the party.

Last summer, Airbnb banned all “disruptive” parties and events at its listed properties and then extended that ban until the end of this summer, when it will reassess. He also capped the number of guests to any rental at 16, although the house has the potential to accommodate more.

“The biggest problem and what matters most to us is trying to stop any kind of disruptive gathering. Open invitational gatherings are a high priority for us, the ones where the party host doesn’t know everyone who shows up, ”he said.

In January 2020, two Denver landlords surrendered their short-term rental licenses after guests they rented at organized parties resulted in reports of gunfire.

Denver received about half as many complaints about short-term rental properties this year through May than in the first five months of 2020 – 126 compared to 61, according to statistics provided by the Excise Department and city ​​licenses.

It is unclear to what extent this drop in complaints reflects Airbnb’s crackdown on holiday rentals, the overall decline in home rentals due to the pandemic, and the decline in active short-term rental licenses in Denver.

Since March 19, 2020, those licenses have fallen 22% in Denver, from 2,575 active licenses to 2,006 current licenses, said Eric Escudero, Denver’s communications director for excise and licensing.

Denver has some of the strictest rules in the country for short-term rentals, requiring hosts to live in a property they rent, not just own it.

“Requiring a house to be a primary residence also often leads to more responsible short-term tenants as they are on the property and prevent loud parties that disrupt neighborhoods from happening. We believe we have one of the best regulated short-term rental markets in America, ”Escudero said.

He estimates the city’s compliance rate for licenses is around 80%, adding that the city has an active program to find non-compliant homeowners.

As of 2019, the city has the power to revoke a short-term rental permit for properties that have a negative impact on the health, safety and well-being of a neighborhood. In March 2019, the city revoked the license of Garth Yettick, owner of Marion Manor, after neighbors complained about excessive parties at the Country Club house, valued at around $ 5 million at the time.

This weekend of July 4, Airbnb drops even more as part of its “Summer of Responsible Travel”. U.S. customers of any age who do not have a history of positive reviews cannot book an overnight accommodation listing during the Holiday Weekend, whether the rental is local or not.

“The message we’re trying to get across to our community is that we want you to have a good time, reconnect and travel, but we want you to do it in a safe and responsible way,” said Breit. “A big part of that is being respectful of properties and neighbors. “

While most homeowners prefer their home not to have big parties, some see party rentals as an opportunity to make money. Airbnb is teaming up with VRBO, another leading provider of short-term rentals, to block repeat “party house” offenders by preventing them from jumping to different platforms as part of the community integrity program.