SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Airbnb is making significant changes to their safety standards after a shooting at one of their locations.
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced via twitter on Saturday that the company will ban the use of “party houses” on their platform. This move by Airbnb is a direct reaction to an incident in which five people died in a shooting that took place at a Halloween party hosted at an Airbnb property in San Francisco. While the move to ban certain activities at properties on their platform is in the interest of security, it could cause problems for the home-rental company.
“In light of their other policies twinned with the party rental ban there may be a chilling effect in the short term rental community,” said Barbara Jones, an investor in competing home rental service StayBillety.
According to Jones, the term “party house” is ill defined and could cause confusion among Airbnb’s user base. Airbnb is also increasing their efforts to screen renters before they lease houses and a way to flag what they call “high-risk reservations.”
