Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said Saturday the online home rental company is banning “party houses” after five people were killed at a California Halloween party.
The Oct. 31 party, which was advertised on social media and drew about 100 attendees, happened at an Orinda, California, home rented through Airbnb, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office said in a Friday statement posted to Facebook.
“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 said in a series of Saturday tweets.
Starting today, we are banning “party houses” and we are redoubling our efforts to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct, including conduct that leads to the terrible events we saw in Orinda. Here is what we are doing:
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) November 2, 2019
The CEO added that Airbnb is “banning ‘party houses'” and strengthening its “efforts to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct, including conduct that leads to the terrible events we saw in Orinda.”
The online rental marketplace will expand its “manual screening of high-risk reservations flagged by our risk detection technology,” “create a dedicated ‘party house’ rapid response team” in the case that a “party house” is not flagged quickly enough, and take “immediate action against users who violate these enhanced guest policies, including removal,” Chesky explained.
WATCH:
Airbnb Vice President of Trust Margaret Richardson will oversee the new party house response team and “initiate a 10-day sprint to review and accelerate the development and implementation of” the company’s new safety initiatives, Chesky added.
He concluded that what happened in Orinda was “unacceptable.” (RELATED: Opinion: Another California Town Is Cracking Down On Airbnb)
We must do better, and we will. This is unacceptable.
— Brian Chesky (@bchesky) November 2, 2019
The five people killed at the house party were between the ages of 22 and 29, and several other victims were injured, according to the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.
Two firearms were discovered in the house where the shooting took place, and “numerous shell casings found at the scene are being processed and analyzed by the Crime Lab,” according to the sheriff’s office. The suspect remains at large.
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