Airbnb moves to ban ‘party houses’ after deadly shooting

AirBnB said they are going to ban "party house" rentals on their platform.

By The Associated Press and News Staff

Airbnb’s CEO says the company is banning “party houses” in the wake of a deadly shooting at a Halloween party held at an Airbnb rental home in California.

In a series of tweets Saturday, Brian Chesky said the San Francisco-based company is expanding manual screening of “high risk” reservations. He also said the company is forming a party house rapid response team.

Chesky said the company will remove guests who fail to comply.

Five people were killed after a Thursday night shooting in the San Francisco suburb of Orinda.

According to people with knowledge of the transaction, the woman who rented the home lied to her Airbnb host, saying she was renting it for family members who needed to escape smoky air from wildfires.

Chesky tweeted that the company “must do better, and we will.”

The GTA has also seen their fair share of incidents at Airbnb properties, including several shootings.

Residents in the Bridle Path neighbourhood raised their concerns about parties being thrown at Airbnbs after a man was shot inside a mansion near Bayview and Lawrence Avenues in August.

At the time, an area resident, who did not want to be identified, told CityNews the home is regularly rented out as an Airbnb and the homeowner lives outside the country. Police would not confirm those details.

The resident also said that parties are a common occurrence at the home, the street is often filled with vehicles parked on both sides and revelers often spill out of the home, onto the street and onto their driveway as well.

CityNews also spoke with a woman who raised the issue of the safety and security of Airbnbs after a shooting broke out during an unauthorized party put on by her Airbnb guests at the end of September. Police said several shell casings were found on the scene, but no one was injured in the shooting.

Earlier this year, Rizwaan Aboobakar Wadee, 18, died after being shot at a prom after-party held at an Airbnb in Stouffville-Whitchurch on May 3. Three people have since been charged with first-degree murder in his death.

Just days later, one man was killed and another was injured after a shooting at a gathering at an Airbnb in Vaughan.

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