Airbnb Warns Guests In LA Not To Throw Parties In Age Of Coronavirus
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Airbnb is warning its Los Angeles customers not to throw parties amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The home-sharing giant Tuesday reported that any guests who violate this policy will be banned from the platform. Airbnb said it will also fully cooperate with any law enforcement investigations.
"We want to be very clear -- not only will we ban guests who attempt to throw an unauthorized party in a Los Angeles area Airbnb listing, we will be cooperating with LAPD and other law enforcement authorities in any investigations relating to parties and violations of public health mandates, consistent with our Terms of Service," the company said.
Under L.A. County's safer at home order, all private and public gatherings are banned.
Normally, Airbnb hosts can let potential guests know if their homes are open to parties or gatherings through a "event-friendly" option. However, that option has since been disabled by Airbnb due to the coronavirus.
"Under typical circumstances, Airbnb empowers our hosts to set house rules on events and parties that are appropriate for their communities," the company said in a news release. "However, these are very different times, and public health must come first."
In January, 28 homes in the Hollywood Hills were pulled off Airbnb's platform after they were identified by authorities as "chronic party houses."
Last month, Airbnb announced a new program in which it would be providing free housing to 100,000 relief workers worldwide fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
It also announced it had reached a deal with the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW) to provide free stays to healthcare workers in L.A. County who need to a place to stay in order to physically distance from their families while they are treating patients.