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VACATION RENTALS

Airbnb and Expedia Group’s Vrbo partner to address ‘party houses’

Posted 6/12/21

Airbnb and Vrbo, an Expedia Group company, has announced a partnership to develop the Community Integrity Program.

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VACATION RENTALS

Airbnb and Expedia Group’s Vrbo partner to address ‘party houses’

Posted

Airbnb and Vrbo, an Expedia Group company, have announced a partnership to develop the Community Integrity Program.

The industry collaboration addresses community safety by sharing important information on listings and strengthening action on community threats posed by repeat “party house” offenders, according to a press release.

Both companies worked separately, the release said, to address the challenge of disruptive party houses that are repeatedly reported.

Vrbo’s Stay Neighborly and Airbnb’s Neighborhood Support Line allows community leaders, neighbors and hosts to elevate issues, noted the release.

However, the challenge persists, as repeat offenders may be delisted by one platform, only to pop up on another, the release said, adding, "neighbors don’t care if a party house is getting its reservations through any particular platform — they just want the parties to stop."

One platform alone cannot solve this problem, which requires an industry-wide effort, the release said of the  Community IntegrityProgram designed to solve the issue.

Airbnb and Vrbo plan to work with a trusted third-party intermediary to develop a process that identifies properties that have been permanently removed from each platform due to repeated violations of respective community policies.

The information will be available for each company to take appropriate action. The program is intended to launch in the U.S. in upcoming months, the release said.

"While rare, disruptive parties can meaningfully impact the community’s quality of life. This pertains to a very small minority of short-term rental properties, however, for the neighbors these can be genuine neighborhood nuisances. Neither Airbnb nor Vrbo have tolerance for this type of irresponsible activity," the release said.

"Industry collaboration is an important step in narrowing enforcement gaps and prioritizing the safety of the communities in which we all operate. This is the first step in building on an important foundation. Additional details about the Community Integrity Program will be coming soon."