Airbnb bans 'house parties' after Halloween shooting leaves 5 dead
House was reportedly rented as a one-night escape from nearby wildfire smoke.
Airbnb bans "house party" rentals on its service after a deadly shooting in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Airbnb has banned the renting of properties on its service for use as "house parties." The ban, announced in a series of tweets Saturday, follows a shooting at a Halloween party at a California rental that left five dead.
CEO Brian Chesky outlined the steps the company is taking "to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct." Among the steps the company is taking is the expansion of manual screening of "high-risk reservations" and creation of a dedicated "house party" rapid response team.
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. Here is what we are doing:
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) November 2, 2019
Users who violate the new policies may be banned from the service, Chesky wrote.
"We must do better, and we will. This is unacceptable," Chesky tweeted.
The moves come after five were killed in a shooting Thursday night at a Halloween party in the San Francisco suburb of Orinda, California. The house was rented on Airbnb, and the party had been advertized on social media as a "mansion party."
The four-bedroom house was rented to a woman who told the owner that her family would use the house to escape smoke from a nearby wildfire, a source told the Associated Press. The owner said he contacted the renter after neighbors complained about a party and was heading to the house when he learned of the shooting.
No arrests had been made, and there was no immediate word on a motive for the attack.