AirBnB

Airbnb Using Noise Sensors to Crack Down on Halloween House Parties

The short-term rental company is cracking down on disruptive parties at rentals and going as far as offering noise sensors for hosts

NBC Universal, Inc.

Halloween is just a little over a week away. If you were thinking of renting a home for your Halloween party through Airbnb – think again.

The short-term rental company is cracking down on disruptive parties at rentals and going as far as offering noise sensors for hosts.

A couple of weeks ago, Airbnb announced policies that would essentially block bad apples from renting properties. It’s their way of having more oversight over guests who haven’t always followed the rules by throwing parties. Some neighbors, like Brian O’Neill, are saying, it’s about time

“Boom, boom, boom.”

That’s the way O’Neill describes the noise he hears from nearby Airbnb's while he's inside his San Diego, California area home.

”The room shakes, the windows,” O’Neill said. “I mean this is literally insane.”

It’s one downside to having constant tourism traffic come through vacation rentals. It’s not always a bad thing, but O’Neill wants more regulation.

Kimberly Wise owns Magical Mission Beach Rentals. She does everything she can to make sure her guests respect not only the properties she manages but the community too.

“We have a really thorough conversation with our guests about exactly why they’re here and what they’re going to be doing just to make sure it’s going to be a good fit,” Wise said.

If you don’t follow the rules, ”You will be evicted," she said.

Airbnb says it’s taking action too by helping hosts combat disruptive parties at rental homes during high-profile weekends like Halloween.

”If you are trying to book entire home listings for one night without a history of positive reviews on the platform you will be blocked from doing so,” Mattie Zazueta of Airbnb told NBC 7.

Not only that, she added that anyone looking to book two-night reservations on the platform who doesn’t have a history of positive reviews or trying to do it within a certain locale or as a last-minute reservation will be redirected to book a non-entire home listing, such as a private room, or they will also be blocked.

The company is even going as far as offering free sensors for hosts so they can keep tabs on noise levels in their homes when guests are present.

“And this is again an easier way for hosts to ensure that they have the tools they need to enforce their house rules,” Zazueta said.

It’s a tactic Wise already implements with her decibel readers. Just one tool in her toolbox to make sure guests and neighbors are accommodated.

”We have neighbors, we have kids who have to go to school, we also just respect our properties,” Wise said.

The short-term rental company also added that all guests attempting to make local reservations during Halloween weekend need to attest that they understand the platform bans parties at rentals. They said, if that rule is broken, those guests could face legal action from the company.

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