'Public health must come first:' Airbnb warns against parties in Milwaukee following 'Safer at Home'
MILWAUKEE -- Airbnb is reminding renters that they will not allow for hosts to authorize parties or events in regions where current public health mandates prohibit events and gatherings.
"We want to be very clear -- not only will we ban guests who attempt to throw an unauthorized party in a Milwaukee Airbnb listing, we will be cooperating with Milwaukee Police in any investigations relating to parties and violations of public health mandates, consistent with our Terms of Service," said Airbnb.
Although the state's 'safer at home order' is no longer in effect, Milwaukee County’s public health order remains in place, and this includes a prohibition on large gatherings, meaning our new policy means will continue to prohibit any type of party at an Airbnb listing in Milwaukee until further notice.
Airbnb said the following in a press release:
"Additionally, we have reinforced this policy by temporarily disabling the “event-friendly” search filter, which is typically used so that guests can seek out venues for responsible parties and gatherings. We continue to temporarily remove the "parties and events allowed” rule from the House Rules of any Milwaukee listings that formerly authorized parties. And, of course, we maintain our rigorous work to prevent and address unauthorized parties, which have always been forbidden and reflect particularly serious abuses of our rules during this public health crisis.
During this challenging time, our host community has stepped up in an extraordinary way by offering 200,000 places to stay globally for COVID-19 responders through Airbnb’s Frontline Stays program. We are incredibly proud of hosts in cities around the world who have offered their homes to those on the front lines and in need of shelter, and we thank them for providing this critical need for safe accomodations at such an important moment in history.
As government and health authorities relax mandates and guidance pertaining to social distancing, we will evaluate these policy adjustments and provide updates for our community. The safety of our hosts and guests is our priority, and we thank them for their understanding during this challenging time.
For latest information on our COVID-19 response, from policy updates to resources for hosts and guests, please visit airbnb.com/covid19."