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Since Covid-19 hit in 2020, there’s been a massive spike of people throwing wild parties at short-term rentals. If you don’t want any of those, learn how to prevent Airbnb parties on your own property.
It was inevitable. After months of lockdown and restrictions from bars and clubs — even from hanging out at each other’s homes — people craved to socialize and party. Across the US and Europe, merry-makers flocked to house parties organized on social media and messaging apps.
But are Airbnb properties the place for such gatherings?
Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, guests had always tried to sneak into Airbnb properties to party — despite the rules, risks and backlash. While it’s natural to unwind and have fun at gatherings, what happens when loud music, alcohol and drugs enter the picture? And when 8 or 10 guests become 15 or 20? Who will prevent things from getting rowdy?
As part of the short-term rental business, it’s our job to keep our properties safe and trouble-free. We avoid problem guests and try to attract only the good quality ones.
That being said, we have to keep in mind that even just one bad party can cause a whole lot of damage. A neighbor can call the police or Airbnb and get you investigated. If Airbnb doesn’t like what they find, they could remove your listing. Or even your entire account.
There are hosts who’ve invested huge money in large properties. But they can’t use them anymore after being delisted from the platform.
It’s simple. Parties can:
Not anymore.
Amid growing calls for crackdowns on wild parties in 2020, the platform announced a global ban on all parties and events that year.
While baby showers, birthday parties and other small celebrations used to be allowed, the current Airbnb no-parties rule remains in effect until further notice.
And aside from banning “party houses” — or properties creating consistent neighborhood nuisance –, Airbnb has added the following restrictions:
Here’s what Airbnb says:
“Some have chosen to take bar and club behavior to homes, sometimes rented through our platform. We think such conduct is incredibly irresponsible — we do not want that type of business, and anyone engaged in or allowing that behavior does not belong on our platform.
“We will continue to enforce our party rules against groups of any size and will be taking action both on guests and listings if we receive reports from neighbors.
“Guests who are reported for throwing a disruptive party or violating our rules on gatherings of more than 16 people are subject to suspension or removal from Airbnb’s platform… We may also remove listings if we determine that a Host has authorized a party that violates this policy.
“We acknowledge that there will always be those who attempt to break the rules. This is why we’ve implemented steep consequences for hosts or guests who try to skirt them — including bans from our community and even legal action.”
To prevent non-compliant hosts from merely moving to other platforms and condoning wild parties there, Airbnb has teamed up with Vrbo to shut down repeat offenders. They’re even collaborating with other industry players to share information and remove unwanted accounts from their respective platforms.
For your best interest, know and understand the Airbnb No Party policy to make sure you’re not breaking any of their rules.
To prevent wild parties from taking place on your property, you’ll have to stop bad guests from even getting inside. Here are 10 ways to do it:
Let people know the rules before they even book. In your listing, it’s important to set clear expectations on what you don’t allow — whether they be parties, smoking, or any kind of inappropriate or disrespectful behavior. State your limits on maximum occupancy, minimum age of the primary renter, what the quiet hours are, and if there are fines for local noise.
As well, let them know if you require a refundable damage deposit aside from the Airbnb-required security deposit. If you charge extra for general or extensive cleaning after any kind of gathering — authorized or not — state that, too.
Informing your guests that you use monitoring devices like external security cameras and sound monitoring (more about those in a bit) will also help deter parties.
Before confirming a guest reservation, ask questions. Get to know your guests to make sure they’re the type of people you can welcome into your home. Check their profile history and past reviews. Validate their IDs. You can select the Instant Book option for verified Government-issued IDs so you have a confirmed identity of the guest in case they violate the Airbnb no-party rule.
Politely ask them where they’re from, what they’re in town for, and who else will be staying with them.
Additionally, find out if they plan to invite others while staying at your place, and how many cars will be parked in front of the property. If they seem to have nothing planned, and only provide short, vague answers, that could be a warning sign.
These are other things to look out for to avoid risky reservations:
a. A local home address
b. Same-day booking for just one night, usually on a weekend
c. A new account or one without positive reviews yet
d. Booking a property with multiple rooms but just 1 guest
e. Bad grammar
Most parties happen only for a night. If you limit guests to a minimum 2-night stay, you’d be able to fend off party throwers. Airbnb already did this for New Year’s Eve bookings in December 2020, particularly with guests without a history of positive reviews.
Apps like Autohost, Safely, and Superhog verify guests and flag potentially risky reservations. If needed, they can also run background checks to detect and weed out fraudsters, sex offenders, and felons. Safely does that by using a database of vacation rental guests, letting them check for rule violations, property damage and payment issues at other properties.
Read also: Property Management Software — Which One is Right for Your Airbnb?
Many guests tend to gloss over the house rules. And rule-breakers can easily claim that they didn’t seen them at all. So consider making an online form that you can ask all guests to sign, to confirm that they’ve read and agree with your rules.
After confirming your guests’ booking, reinforce the rules. If you skipped the above step (#5), message your guests and ask them to confirm that they’ve read and agree with the rules long before they arrive. Reiterate the Airbnb no-party policy and all other relevant rules such as no smoking, quiet-down hours, maximum capacity, etc.
Communicating with guests is a way to amp up your screening process. Ask them to respond to you on Airbnb and if they don’t, that’s a red flag. There’s a risk that the person is a third-party booker or they’re refusing to accept your house rules.
And if you discover that a guest is planning to throw a party, remind them of the global ban, yet again and that Airbnb can take legal action against them. If they disregard it, you can go ahead and report them to the company.
You’ll need to provide some evidence, though. You could show the guest message thread. Or maybe negative reviews they may have gotten in the past stating that they hosted an unauthorized party before.
If you’re seeing a lot of red flags and feel very uncomfortable about a booking, don’t hesitate to cancel. Remember that you’re allowed up to 3 cancelations per year, without penalties, per listing.
Listen as Jon gives a few more tips on how to prevent Airbnb parties.
Solicit a neighbor’s help to keep an eye on your property. Give them your number and ask them to call you directly if they notice something suspicious, if the music is too loud, or if a large amount of people is gathering outside your home.
Making yourself reachable to your neighbors will help calm their concerns about living near an Airbnb property. Plus, you can tell your guests at booking time that you have neighbors keeping an eye on your house. That should deter any raucous behaviors.
If you’re doing rental arbitrage and managing your property remotely, it’s important that you have someone living nearby that you can call on to go and check on things. Consider hiring someone for the task, or you can get a co-host or property manager to run your vacation rental for you. Tell your guests that one of your managers or staff live close by and could be on hand at a moment’s notice.
Outdoor cameras tell you how many people are coming in and out of your property. They also tell you exactly how many arrive at the door upon check-in. If a guest booked a property with multiple rooms all to himself but shows up with a few other people, that gives you grounds to complain to Airbnb or cancel the reservation.
But be transparent. State in your listing description that you’ve installed outdoor cameras for the purpose of deterring break-ins and unauthorized parties.
Devices like NoiseAware, Minut, Roomonitor, and Ring can monitor the noise levels in a living room. They can alert you or your guests when levels rise beyond your pre-set limit. You can then call or message them and ask them to tone it down.
If they ignore your requests, you can contact Airbnb to cancel the booking. You may also lodge a noise complaint with your local authorities.
Again, remember to have proper disclosure about these devices in your listing description.
Watch now: Minut vs. NoiseAware, Which is the Best Noise Monitor for Airbnb?
There are devices that monitor the number of cell phones active on a property.
PartySquasher is a sensor that you can connect to your home’s internet router. It’ll count the number of mobile phones in and around your property and alert you if too many are being detected. Fing App does the same, too. You’ll know when a large group of people is starting to gather so you can do something about it before the noise starts and any party begins.
These devices will work better in the suburbs, though, than in an apartment building where multiple people may be using mobile phones.
When trying to prevent Airbnb parties, it’s best to use a multi-step, combination approach. Use several of the above strategies so you have multiple layers of protection.
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