Airbnb To Crackdown On Hollywood Hills New Year's Eve Parties

HOLLYWOOD HILLS, CA — Short-term rental giant Airbnb will attempt to enforce its ban on parties and by weeding out rule-breakers on New Year's Eve in Los Angeles, the company announced Monday.

Los Angeles has long been a hot-spot for raucous parties at short-term rentals, and the company faced pressure from the city to rein in party houses that disrupt residential neighborhoods. The company this week, announced expanded measures to discourage revelers from using short-term rentals to host large parties.

The vacation rental platform first announced on Nov. 2 that it would prohibit guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb from making one-night reservations in entire home listings on Dec. 31. It also said it would restrict local and last-minute two-night reservation bookings during that period by guests without a history of positive reviews.

On Monday, the platform announced it would extend its restrictions on two-night bookings to include three-night bookings, as well. The decision was made based on positive feedback from hosts that use the platform, according to Airbnb.

Last year, Airbnb announced that it was removing 28 properties from listings in the Hollywood Hills identified by the Los Angeles Police Department as creating a substantial neighborhood nuisance.

Hollywood Hills neighbors have long struggled with homes being rented out for huge parties, causing noise, traffic and parking headaches.

"LAPD provided Airbnb with information pertaining to `chronic party houses,' some of which have generated citations and cease-and-desist orders," Airbnb said in a statement at the time.

Also in 2020, Airbnb announced a global ban on parties and events with more than 16 people at Airbnb listings in an attempt to prevent nuisances that disturb surrounding neighborhoods.

During holidays that attract more unauthorized parties, the platform ramps up its preventative measures, according to Airbnb, which said the program is aimed at protecting its hosts and minimizing neighborhood disruption.

The platform first piloted its restrictions during New Year's Eve in 2020 for the mainland United States, Canada, Australia, France, Spain and the United Kingdom. According to Airbnb, about 243,000 guests around the world encountered the restrictions during booking attempts ahead of New Year's Eve.

Its 2021 restrictions are being applied to the same countries as in 2020, along with Brazil and New Zealand. The U.S. restrictions were also extended to include Puerto Rico.

The same restrictions applied in the U.S. and Canada over July 4 and Halloween in 2021.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.