On Halloween night this year, a tragedy occurred in an Airbnb rental in California, leaving 5 dead. Due to insignificant amounts of background security, a Halloween party was able to be thrown in an Airbnb four-bedroom home. News of the party was broadcasted over social media, advertising an open house in a wealthy community for any interested party-goers.

  5 arrests have been made and two guns were found on the property. Witnesses describe the event as chaos, people panicking and rushing off the property and people wounded by bullets on the floor. 

  Regarding policies, Airbnb has banned “party houses” after this deadly shooting. Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, took to Twitter to say, “combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct”. With feelings of remorse, he also tweeted, “We must do better, and we will.” 

 Chesky announced the Airbnb’s new changes and they mainly focus on four key features. 100% of listings will be verified and will establish a “guest guarantee” for when guests arrive at a listing that doesn’t match online descriptions. More safety features include a 24/7 “neighbor hotline” staffed by real people for the safety of users and will conduct manual reviews of high-risk listings. All these changes that are being enforced are for the safety of Airbnb users.

   The question left is if Airbnb can actually ban ‘party houses’. Teens take to social media to advertise house parties and charge money to those who want to attend. The addresses of these houses are posted on social media platforms where anyone can access them, opening up the opportunity for unsafe events to take place in rentals.