I am writing to ask if anyone knows the true AirBnb party policy. I am aware of Airbnb’s past and very recent party policies. Although my listing states that parties are not allowed (I am actually not against them per se, but trying to abide what I thought was AirBnb poiicy), I still have guests inquire and book parties at the house (graduation parties, bachelor/bachelorette parties, baby showers, wedding parties, etc). I usually then reiterate to the guests that Airbnb does not allow parties, but if they are still interested, they should contact AirBnb for approval. This scenerio has probably played out at least a half dozen times or more, and each time Airbnb contacts me to indicate the guests and their event is approved. Seems strange that they would approve with the past and current policy…so maybe I have misinterpreted the policy and I do not need to ask the guests to contact AirBnb for approval.
Airbnb’s policy is to get as many bookings as possible. They really only disapprove of parties that bring bad publicity.
Snark aside, the truth is most “parties” are problem free.
I think it is smart of you to have guests contact Airbnb for approval for their gathering – and to memorialize it on Airbnb messaging platform. I would specifically use the term “gathering,” as that seems to be Airbnb’s term for something that is not prohibited. That way if there is ever an issue, it may provide some buffer from Airbnb shutting down your listing.
Airbnb’s policy I assume is to prevent parties and events that go wrong and make Airbnb look bad. The terms they use are “disruptive,” and/or “large” (over 16) in their prohibitions.
I bet they take into consideration the ages of the guests. If they’re college kids and have negative
reviews from previous guests, chances are they will not approve it and will cancel it.
Any get together that gets out of hand and people start to act like aggressive obnoxious and loud fools will be called a ‘party’ quickly. It is behavior that defines what constitutes one. Asking Airbnb’s pre-approval I see as a very complicated ordeal. It is simple, every host should make sure their guests do not become a problem to others, especially their neighbors.
I bet 30% of my guests do nothing but ‘party’, but it is irrelevant since they are doing so in the middle of nowhere; so it’s like the dog, if no one hears it bark, no one cares. 
Their party algorithm definitely does get triggered for guests under 25. The problem is that the algorithm is poorly programmed and doesn’t take into account whether a guest has a history of good reviews, whether they have booked for a family, i.e. 2 adults and 2 children, etc. It only identifies specific risk factors.
I read a post from a guest who was super annoyed, because she was 24 and the algorithm was preventing her from booking. She was a professional who travelled a lot on business, booking self-contained apartments, and had pages full of 5* reviews.
Instead of automatically blocking bookings just because they somehow trigger their bots, Airbnb should send a message to the host telling them why the booking could be a risk- a history of having thrown a party, the age of the guest, whatever. And let the host decide. No host would have had any reason to consider that guest a party risk, nor was she one.
I appreciate your suggestion re using “gathering”. Also, I agree that having the guest contact Airbnb for approval for a party does provide some protection against getting suspended (which has happened in the past due to a disruptive party). Since i have asked potential guests who plan on having a party contact Airbnb for approval, I have not been suspended again (even though one of the parties was disruptive that resulted in a neighbor complaining to Airbnb). So I guess this approach works…
I see your point re asking the guest to contact AirBnb for pre-approval for a party, it is somewhat awkward and complicated, but I am not sure of the utility of another approach. I have asked guests to be considerate to the neighbors re noise etc if they were going to have a party, and this has not always worked (I was even suspended once…a while ago). I reside some 20 min away when i have guests at my house, and it is not easy or really possible (I believe) to “make sure guests do not become a problem to others” in real time. I am though very open to any suggestions you may have to address this (ongoing) concern.
IF, again IF you value your hosting via Airbnb then it is up to you to make sure no party occurs, regardless of where you are physically. If it happens you stand a very good chance to be banned permanently. Why go there? If you allow too many people and they are of the ‘the-hell-with-everyone-else’ mentality and they are borderline alcoholics = trouble, 100% of the time.
Do you blame Airbnb for their new anti-party policy? These sensational violent stories which the mainstream media relishes costs them millions in bad publicity and create new anti-renting controls. It’s bad for business.
That’s the kind of attitude that makes neighbors rightfully angry at having an Airbnb next door and leads to municipalities banning strs. It is your responsibilty to make sure your guests do not disturb others and you need to come up with a way to make sure they don’t.
Muddy, I am confused with your response. I am not saying that we do not have a significant responsibility to try to make sure guests do not disturb others…all I am saying when all is said and done, it is the guests that determines whether they will be disruptive, and there are realistic limitations on how quickly we can squelch the behavior. I am open though to any suggestions to how to limit and quickly address disruptive behavior. Here is what I do to limit parties and disruptive behavior at my AirBnb:
- My listing specifically indicates that no parties are allowed.
- If more than eight guests want to rent my house (it easily sleeps 14), I inquire why they are staying at the house and emphasize that parties or loud disruptive behavior are not allowed. If I have any further concerns, I do not allow the booking. If they say there will be a party (and I think it will be relatively benign), I ask them to obtain pre-approval from Airbnb. I also emphsise that I am in a quiet neighborhood, and that loud noises or disruptive behavior is not allowed.
- On check in, I reiterate my policy on parties (unless they have preapproval from Airbnb), excessive noise, and disruptive behavior.
- I have asked my closest neighbor to let me me know if my guests are even beginning to be noisy…I then contact the guests.
I have had well over 2000 guests stay at my house over the past 10 years with almost a 150 reviews with very few problems (less than one every two or three years)… a number of my guests do not pay a hosting fee and often they do not leave a review (I lend out my house on Airbnb over months to different groups including Afghan refugees, or other individuals going through hardships, such as those who have experienced house fires, etc). I am a superhost. I believe I go beyond due diligence on making sure that my guests are not disruptive, and I believe i am a positive representative of the Airbnb hosting community. Again, my prior statement re responsibility is that at the end of the day, if we have done all we can beforehand to educate and inhibit disruptive behavior, and we have plans in place to inhibit poor behavior if it does occur, it is still the guest who has to make the effort and is responsible. Just as in my community… the speed limit is 20 mph, the drivers have been taught to follow the law and the speed limit and caution curve sign is clearly posted…if the driver then has a accident due to speeding around the curve, it is driver who has take responsibility, not the DMV or the municipality. Anyway, AirBnb has approved and is supportive of my approach (I actually received advice and suggestions from Airbnb after I received my only suspension early on), and although there has been one party that occurred since I have implemented my approach to parties, I was not found responsible by AirBnb. Again, I am open to any suggestions re my approaches to decrease the liklihood of having irresponsible and disruptive guests and be a postive host model in the AirBnb community.
Sorry if I sounded harsh, but this is the attitude I think is not okay. Obtaining pre-approval from Airbnb covers you from getting suspended if the guests are disruptive, but you are being contradictory, and that provides guests with an excuse to disturb the neighborhood. You say you don’t allow parties, but then say “if they say there will be a party, I ask them to get approval”.
Bookings where guests indicate they won’t abide by the house rules, whether it’s a no parties rule, a no pets rule, or whatever, should not be accepted, period. It’s not a house rule if you don’t firmly stick to it.
It’s like a parent telling their child that they are not allowed to have cookies half an hour before dinner time, but the child wheedles and whines and promises to eat their dinner, and the parent gives in. What are the parents teaching the child? That when mom or dad say no, it doesn’t really mean no. Not good messaging.
So while I fully understand the reality of not being able to prevent guests from doing as they please if they are intent on disregarding the rules (and you sound suitably responsive if this does happen) , I don’t understand allowing them to have a party “with approval from Airbnb”, when your listing says “No parties”.
@richard1 You do take a more risque approach than many of us would, but you do get the flic and understand behavior is everything; 20 well-behaved people are more than welcomed just about anywhere, just a few Neanthethals knuckle dragging their way into someone’s home are major trouble for everyone by the time you get to them. Nowadays the knuckle draggers are certainly getting craftier and at times surprise us. 
Onward…