Airbnb has officially announced it is banning all “party houses” following a Halloween shooting that left five people dead in Orinda, California. Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky made the announcement in a series of tweets Saturday afternoon.
“Starting today, we are banning ‘party houses’ and we are redoubling our efforts to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct, including conduct that leads to the terrible events we saw in Orinda,” Chesky tweeted.
Five people were killed Thursday night during a Halloween party at a rental home in the wealthy San Francisco Bay Area community. Police said 100 people attended the party, despite the renter believing it would be used for a family reunion of just 12.
Chesky laid out a three-point plan on Twitter, which includes expanding manual screening of high-risk reservations, creating a response team dedicated to house parties and taking action against users who violate enhanced guest policies.
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Chesky said executive team member Margaret Richardson will oversee the new policies, which the team hopes to implement over the next 10 days. The company will remove guests who fail to comply with the new rules.
“We must do better, and we will,” Chesky said. “This is unacceptable.”
Airbnb released a statement on Friday saying the home has been removed from listings during the investigation and that the guest who rented it would be banned from the platform. The company said the listing specifically forbid parties.
“We are horrified by this tragedy and are in close communication with Chief David Cook of Orinda Police to offer our support with his investigation into who committed this senseless violence,” Airbnb said. “Our thoughts are with the loved ones of the victims of this abhorrent act as well as the neighbors of the home.”
