Brook Rieman, who has been an Airbnb host for about six years, and her husband rent out two properties through Airbnb: a one-room renovated church originally built in 1872 and a bigger house with four bedrooms. The church, built just after the Civil War, has been the location of some unauthorized parties, she said.

Some visitors at the church tried to have a small wedding, Rieman said, which the owners don’t allow for liability purposes. 

Once, guests at the church had a party during graduation weekend, Rieman said, which her husband discovered as he drove by seeing portable tables and food around. The guests, who admitted to the party, were asked to shut it down.

Starting in June 2022, Airbnb announced an official codification of its party ban globally.

Ben Breit, global trust communications director at Airbnb, said in 2019 Airbnb began tightening rules on house parties and established a 24/7 neighborhood support line which allows neighbors of Airbnb properties to report current parties or an issue with repeated parties.

In 2020, when COVID-19 hit, there was an increase in parties at Airbnbs, Breit said, following clubs, bars and pub closures or restrictions. That was when the company announced a temporary ban in the interest of public health, he said, which is now permanent. 

At Rieman's other property, visitors have tried to sneak in extra people without paying, she said. A guest at this bigger house also threw a graduation party with more than the expected number of visitors. Rieman said she and her husband explained the rules and asked them to remove any additional people beyond the eight the house had been booked for.

After agreeing to the conditions, the visitors allowed more people to arrive, Rieman said, to the point where they were thrown out. There was no damage to the property, but the situation was confrontational.

“They were cussing at my husband, and everyone was yelling at him,” she said. “He just basically stood there and waited for them all to vacate. But we didn’t have to involve the police.”

The person responsible for damage to an Airbnb property is held accountable, Breit said, but Airbnb also provides AirCover, which includes up to $1 million in damage protection on every booking. Hosts provide evidence of damage, often through photos, to be reimbursed.

In 2021, Airbnb suspended or removed over 6,000 people who violated the then-temporary party ban in some way, Breit said. The policy has been successful in limiting parties, he said.

Rieman said she is glad Airbnb has taken this step because it’s easier to say no to parties when it’s against the organization’s policy, and not just the personal hosts’ policy. Rieman also has a two-night minimum to help mitigate parties. 

Andrew Meyer, who has been a host with his wife since 2018, rents out four Airbnb properties in Bloomington. They have been lucky, Meyer said. Once they saw signs of a party, with a bunch of leftover food and trays in the trash, he said, but there was no damage.

The ban will help to mitigate parties, Meyer said, but most hosts didn’t allow parties anyway. To prevent parties at their properties, Meyer said they don’t allow one-night stays or guests who are not included in the booking without permission.

“If they want to have grandma over for dinner, that’s fine,” he said. “But it just kind of makes sure that they don’t have people over that aren’t allowed. And that helps discourage parties.”

Reach Luzane Draughon at ldraughon@gannett.com or @luzdraughon on Twitter.