Airbnb is issuing an anti-party warning to Chicagoans, days before the Memorial Day weekend.
After summer troubles with parties during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the platform is extending its party ban through the end of summer 2021.
Violators could face suspension from the app or even be banned. AirBnB also said disruptive users could face legal action, if necessary.
The platform put the party ban in place in August 2020, along with removing the "Event Friendly" search filter.
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Spokesperson Ben Breit said a 24/7 neighbor hotline was created to report disruptive users.
"If you’re under the age of 25 and do not have history of positive reviews on Airbnb, we’re not going to allow you to book an entire home listing local to where you live," Briet said. "We want to make it very clear, that’s just not something we’re going to tolerate."
Over the years, NBC 5 has reported on a number of disruptive house parties thrown at Airbnb rentals. Some even resulted in shootings.
Local
Lynne Perryman of Bronzeville told us she believes her mother contracted COVID-19 because of several large parties thrown in the building she was renting in from an Airbnb host in April 2020.
"We were very upset, very inconvenienced," said Perryman. "I’m very happy with these new guidelines they’re putting in place."
Airbnb will re-evaluate the party ban at the end of the summer to determine if it will be extended again.
