ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The short-term rental firm Airbnb has released year-end data outlining its efforts to stop unauthorized parties in St. Louis throughout 2021.
On Monday, company spokesperson Ben Breit told KMOX’s Charlie Brennan and Amy Marxkors Airbnb prevented 2,600 people from using Airbnb in the city last year by blocking individuals under 25 with poor Airbnb histories from renting in their own localities.
Breit said the policy continues in 2022.
“If you are under age of 25 and if you don’t have a history of positive reviews on Airbnb, you will not be able to book a home listing local to where you live,” he stated.
Breit said in the Summer of 2020, Airbnb took action to ban parties to promote public health during the pandemic as well as to try to prevent and defer community disruption.
According to Airbnb figures released last week, the number of people blocked from renting in St. Louis included 500 over the 4th of July, 450 on Halloween and more than 1,100 on New Year’s Eve.
Breit conceded not all of those blocked by the new policy intended to host parties.
“That’s the tradeoff we are willing to make in the interest of public safety,” he said.
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Guests are still allowed to book private room listings where the Airbnb Host lives.
Airbnb has been seen as a huge problem by many downtown St. Louis residents who complain Airbnb customers throw parties attracting large, disruptive crowds that sometimes arrive in noisy vehicles with screeching tires. Residents say revelers have accessed rooftop decks and community rooms while shooting fireworks and guns and wrecking Airbnb units.
Residents also lament buildings consisting almost entirely of Airbnb units, sometimes known as “ghost hotels.”
Kansas City has an Airbnb permitting process and major metros in Canada have also begun regulating Airbnb operations.
Would Breit favor restricting Airbnb rentals to owner-occupied units and requiring a two-night minimum or a city permit?
“Every city is different,” he told Brennan and Marxkors.
“There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Some sort of registration or permit? I generally think those are reasonable and we are happy to work with cities along those lines.”
Pointing out how Chicago levies an Airbnb fee to help the homeless, Breit said, “We are definitely committed to working with community groups, neighbors and policy makers.”
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