Airbnb cracks down on 1-night reservations for Memorial Day, Fourth of July weekends
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — After the mass shooting in East Allegheny and complaints of noise and destruction across the country, Airbnb has announced a crackdown on unruly and unauthorized parties.
In Pittsburgh, leaders said those measures don't go far enough to protect the public. They want stricter restrictions in place.
Airbnb announced new measures ahead of the Memorial Day and the Fourth of July weekends, but Pittsburgh City Council wants year-round accountability from anyone who leases a short-term rental.
The deadly chaos at an Airbnb in Pittsburgh on Easter took the lives of two teenagers and wounded several others. But some say short-term rental parties have been a plague on neighborhoods for some time.
This includes Lawrenceville, where resident Wayne Grgrich said a party earlier this year quickly got out of hand.
"Cars are playing music, people are dancing on the cars in the streets, screaming words I can't say on KDKA. This went on until 3 in the morning," Grgurich said.
Airbnb said it's heard the concerns and is taking action. In addition to a company ban on all parties, it issued new restrictions for the upcoming Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends.
Guests without a history of positive reviews are prohibited from making one-night reservations, and there are new restrictions on last-minute reservations for two-night stays. It is also Introducing so-called "anti-party attestations" where guests must state they understand prohibitions against parties.
City Councilman Bobby Wilson and others said Airbnb hasn't gone far enough. Council is still crafting a bill that would require everyone leasing an Airbnb to be licensed by the city and part of a centralized registry. Each Airbnb would then be posted with a sticker, showing the owner's contact information for responding police.
"They're going to come to the property and if they see the sticker in the window, the gial is for them to contact that property owner and say this property is now outside of the code," Wilson said.
Police could immediately get authorization to enter the property and shut the party down. Owners could be subject to penalties, all of which, they hope, could be a deterrent to late-night noise and disorder.
"Nobody wants to have that in their neighborhood," Grgurich said.
In a statement, Airbnb said it is open to the legislation.
"We're supportive of common-sense regulations, including a registration system, and we continue to work with the city on this effort."
