Airbnb has permanently banned parties and events for hosts and users on its platform, after this temporary policy was introduced during the pandemic and became popular with hosts.

Airbnb has argued that the continuance of this rules has become "much more than a public health measure" since it was introduced in August 2020."It developed into a bedrock community policy to support our hosts and their neighbours," the platform added. Reports have revealed that parties at listed properties on Airbnb have dropped by 44% from last year and that over 6,600 guests have been suspended for related violations.

The company believes that this is a positive step forward and will reduce potential incidents of violence, other rule violations and stem health concerns.However, the company has said that it will remove limits on the number of people hosts are allowed to accommodate. Previously, a 16 person limit was put in place due to concerns over the spread of Covid."Several types of larger homes are capable of comfortably and safely housing more than 16 people - from castles in Europe to vineyards in the US to large beachfront villas in the Caribbean.

"Removing this cap is meant to allow those hosts to responsibly utilise the space in their homes while still complying with our ban on disruptive parties."Many, however, have not been happy with this news. Shares in Airbnb have dropped by almost 4% in a single day, and are continuing to fall more sharply than the wider Nasdaq index.The company would add that: "this new and long-term policy was enacted to help encourage and support community safety."We look forward to sharing updates in the coming weeks and months on our efforts to complement our community policies on parties."