Airbnb Sues Guest Whose Sacramento Party Drew Gunfire Injuring 3

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In the run-up to Airbnb’s imminent IPO filing, it has implemented a series of policies to help repair the company’s reputation within communities that oppose the constant turnover of strangers in their neighborhoods.

Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images

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Yuriko Nakao/Getty Images

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For Airbnb, 2020 Was Supposed To Be A Banner Year. Then The Pandemic Hit

Last year, after a similar shooting at a short-term rental where five people were killed, the company banned «party houses, pledging to expand «manual screening of high-risk reservations. The company also created a 24-hour hotline to deal with complaints from neighbors.

More recently, it prohibited some guests under 25 from booking entire home listings in their local area.

The initial public offering of the company’s stock has been delayed due to the pandemic but is now expected later this month, according to the Wall Street Journal. Its current valuation is in the neighborhood of $18 billion dollars — a $13 billion drop from 2017. Additionally, the company expects this year’s sales to be, at best, half of what they were last year.

It has also cut 25% of its workforce and laid off hundreds of contract workers as it tries to squeeze costs while borrowing $2 billion dollars.

With regard to the lawsuit in Sacramento, the company says it plans to donate any money recovered to a local non-profit fighting against gun violence.