If you rent out your home on Airbnb, your guests may now have to fight for their right to party.
The global home-sharing site is rolling out an online complaint feature that lets neighbors tattle on pesky partiers, said the company on Monday. The new tool represents Airbnb’s response to increased complaints from residents about the noise, pollution, and bad behavior of some of the platform’s guests.
Though the peer-to-peer rental site does currently have a “party policy” as well as a hotline for complaints, the image of the global giant has been somewhat tainted by highly publicized incidents ranging from wild New Year’s Eve bashes with 200-plus guests, to alleged temporary brothels, plus-size orgies, porn shoots, and claims of sexual assault.
The new feature will enable Airbnb's customer service reps to review comments internally, though it’s unclear how the company will take action, and whether or not renters or rentals will be blocked from the site after numerous complaints are filed.
The San Francisco-based site has shaken up the world of travel since its launch in 2008, with 60 percent of its users reporting in a recent survey that they would rather stay in an Airbnb rental than revert to traditional hotel lodging.
The $25 billion company is worth more than Macy's, and boasts 60 million active users in 192 countries.
