Airbnb is cracking down on “party houses” after a Halloween shooting at a California residence rented through the service left five people dead earlier this week.
CEO Brian Chesky outlined how the company plans “to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct” in a Twitter thread Saturday. First and foremost: He announced an immediate ban on party houses. Thursday’s incident in Orinda, California, was at a home purportedly being advertised as the scene of a “mansion party” on social media according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The host had apparently rented the property under the guise that she was holding a family reunion for 12 people.
To help enforce this ban, Chesky said they’re creating a dedicated “party house” rapid response team led by Margaret Richardson from the company’s executive staff. Among other additional safety measures, Airbnb plans to ramp up the vetting process for reservations, particularly those flagged as “high risk” by Airbnb’s risk detection technology.
“What happened on Thursday night in Orinda, CA was horrible. I feel for the families and neighbors impacted by this tragedy - we are working to support them,” Chesky wrote.
Authorities have not identified a suspect in the shooting, and an undisclosed number of partygoers were also injured in the attack per Reuters.