By CNBC
AIRBNB announced today (August 20) a global ban on all parties and events at its listings for health reasons.
The home-sharing platform, which made the announcement in a blog post today, said it would also introduce a property occupancy cap of 16 people.
“Instituting a global ban on parties and events is in the best interest of public health,” the company said in the post.
The ban applies to all future bookings on Airbnb and will remain in effect until further notice.
The announcement comes a day after Airbnb said it had submitted a draft registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering.
It’s been a brutal few months for Airbnb hosts, who count on income from the home-sharing site to help make ends meet. The coronavirus pandemic has battered the travel and hospitality industry, particularly in big cities, leaving vacation rentals vacant for extended stretches of time.
But lost revenue isn’t the only problem hosts are facing. Even for the nights they are able to book guests, some property owners are complaining of late and missing payments from Airbnb.
Before Covid-19 forced millions of Americans to shelter in place, Airbnb hosts typically received payments from the company within a day after check-in. Airbnb takes payments from visitors on its website and then remits the money, minus a fee, to the host.
Now, some Airbnb hosts say payments from the company are taking much longer to arrive or they are outright disappearing from their online dashboards. Missing and delayed payments present another issue for Airbnb to address as it prepares to go public.
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Top: People party on a rooftop in Kips Bay as New York City continues Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on August 1, 2020. Photo: Noam Galai / Getty Images published by CNBC
