Heads up, Arizona travelers: Airbnb cracking down on Halloween parties this weekend

Airbnb cracking down on Halloween parties this weekend

Halloween is this weekend, and Airbnb is cracking down on parties in the days ahead. FOX 10's Stephanie Olmo reports.

PHOENIX - Airbnb is reminding Arizona residents that the vacation rental company will be cracking down on Halloween parties this weekend.

One night reservations in entire home listings will be blocked for guests without a history of positive reviews. Many communities have complained about guests getting rowdy in short-term rentals.

Back in August, the company announced anti-party restrictions for the Halloween weekend, with those restrictions going into effect Oct. 28.

The company estimates that their efforts resulted in a drop in over 49% of unauthorized Halloween parties.

"The rate of perhaps unauthorized parties-it's just something we need to be on guard for," said Ben Breit, head of trust and safety communications at Airbnb. "We do have these escalated measures in place to try to stop as many unauthorized parties as possible."

Even if people book for more than one night, it doesn't mean that they can get away with it.

"We also have escalated measures against people who do not have that history of positive reviews, but also a bit juiced up for certain local reservations," said Breit. "Certain last minute reservations specific for this weekend, so we are…pulling out all the stops to try to stop as many parties as possible."

In the past couple of years, Airbnb has banned party houses and all parties. Last year, a shooting occurred outside of a short-term rental in Scottsdale, just days after the company removed 50 party houses across Arizona.

One resident said any issues with short-term rentals in the neighborhood have been isolated.

"I think it’s getting about the right people here in your rentals, and if you can do it, then it’s been no issue out here other than that one isolated event," they said.

Scottsdale Police say there are over 1,000 short-term rentals that are registered with the city. Officer Aaron Bolin says guests need to be considerate of others in the community.

"It’s easy to say I don’t live here, I’m going to act a little rowdier than normal because I’m going to leave," Bolin said. "For the people to live in these neighborhoods, it can be very distressing for them."