Airbnb Admits It Will Ban You Over Your Misbehaved Friends – SlashGear

Recently coming to light is an internal policy that allows the company to institute bans against would-be patrons who are associated with supposed criminals or anyone who was previously banned for any reason. Airbnb confirmed this policy in a statement to Vice, which learned of it from a message shared by one of the people affected. 

“We’ve removed you from the Airbnb platform because your account is closely associated with a person who isn’t allowed to use Airbnb,” the message states, noting that it’s for the safety of the community at large. It’s not unreasonable in a vacuum, but some might consider it unfair to be labeled problematic even if they’ve never engaged in wrongdoing themselves.

In this case, the background check executed on the customer’s boyfriend exposed a criminal record, causing his barring from the platform. And because she had attempted to use his credit card to book the stay, her account subsequently met the same fate, although it was only a white-collar crime, she admits. Of course, it’s within Airbnb’s right to uphold such a policy, and some might even call it a moral obligation. The safety of the host, their property, their neighbors, and their future guests is of utmost priority. To be fair, the company does allow you and the offending account holder to appeal your cases, but ultimately, it can uphold these decisions at its discretion.