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Airbnb to mandate Enhanced Cleaning Protocol compliance
Reading Time: 2 minutesWorldwide: As a part of its continuing efforts to rebuild consumer confidence, Airbnb will make host compliance with its Enhanced Cleaning Protocol compulsory by 20 November. Hosts who do not comply with the required protocols may be subject to removal from the platform. Airbnb introduced its Enhanced Cleaning Protocol in April in the immediate wake […]
Airbnb blocks one-night Halloween rental parties in USA and Canada
Reading Time: 3 minutesUS / Canada: Airbnb is to block one-night reservations through its platform over Halloween in the United States and Canada, in order to prevent a repeat of a shooting incident last year that left five people dead at an unauthorised party in Orinda, California. The temporary ban will apply to entire home listings in both […]
Airbnb aiming to raise $3 billion in IPO by December
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Airbnb is reportedly aiming to raise around $3 billion in its upcoming initial public offering [IPO], sources close to the matter told Reuters. In news that may generate further optimism for the unicorn company, Airbnb is on course to achieve a valuation of more than $30 billion as a result of the IPO according […]
Thousands of Airbnbs active in Ontario during ban
Reading Time: 2 minutesCanada: According to a report from tenant organisation Fairbnb, thousands of Airbnb properties continued operating during Ontario’s short-term rental ban earlier in the pandemic. Approximately 2,800 properties in high-density areas continued operating throughout the pandemic period, according to Fairbnb. The report from Fairbnb further alleged that hosts engaged in high-risk behaviour, hosting significant numbers of […]
Airbnb adds online experiences from Brand USA
Reading Time: 2 minutesUS: Airbnb has announced a partnership with American destination marketing organisation Brand USA to create a new set of Online Experiences. Airbnb has created a new landing page for the initiative and set up experiences with five unique storytellers from United Stories. Some of the experiences already offered on the site include a southern food […]
Airbnb at risk of “massive” fine for data protection breach
Reading Time: 2 minutesEurope: Airbnb is facing a potentially “massive” fine under GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation] legislation after notifying the Irish Data Protection Commission of a data breach that allowed some of its users in Europe and around the world to view other hosts’ private inboxes last week. The home-sharing platform informed the data protection tsar in […]
HMRC adds £1.8m to Airbnb UK tax bill
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: The UK branch of Airbnb has been served an additional £1.8 million tax bill after an investigation from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [ HMRC ] into its 2019 profits. The company confirmed it had paid the bill in addition to the £1.1 million of annual corporate tax it had already handed over. Airbnb’s tax […]
Apple grants Airbnb three-month concession on App Store tax
Reading Time: 2 minutesWorldwide: Apple has announced it will temporarily waive its 30 per cent tax on revenue generated by companies hosting online events, paid for via App Store transactions on its iPhones or iPads, for the next three months. The move applies to businesses that have been forced to switch to online-only events due to the Covid-19 pandemic. […]
Glasgow seeks court enforcement of Airbnb ban
Reading Time: 2 minutesUK: Glasgow City Council is seeking a first-of-its-kind court interdict to shut a short-term rental property which will not comply with enforcement. A property on Victoria Road in Glasgow’s southside was ordered to shut last year after complaints of noise and anti-social behaviour but is still being advertised. Let out by Ahmed Boutoubane, the property […]
Airbnb accommodation privacy ‘breached’ through online ‘glitch’
Reading Time: 3 minutesWorldwide: Airbnb hosts have reported seeing other hosts’ private inboxes, rather than their own, on their accounts as discussions between hosts and guests, including addresses and codes to enter the properties, were revealed. The reported ‘glitch’ was swiftly communicated in Airbnb group discussions online and confirmed to be worldwide. Screenshots were shared online on social […]