The days of loud, disruptive parties at the short-term rental property down the street are over. Short-term rental companies Airbnb and Vrbo have both enacted bans aimed to stop the all-night kegger parties. The bans initially began during the pandemic as ways to halt the spread of COVID-19 and have since become permanent as the agencies move forward.
"It'll have a positive impact because it will keep big parties with their damage under control," says UNO Professor Janet Speyrer. "But, the difficulty is it will lead them to fewer opportunities for renting their properties, so it will have positive and negative impacts."
Speyrer says Airbnb has seen a 44%-year-over-year drop in the rate of party reports since enacting the ban.
"I think some parties they book will still be here. But they'll have to plan ahead to have more limited activities," says Speyrer. "They're going to have to have more policing of these rentals while they're going on."
Airbnb has gone as far as to open a hotline for residents to call if a party at a property is getting out of line. A bad report about a problem party could result in the renter being permanently banned from renting another property down the line.
What does this mean for New Orleans, a town traditionally where people come to cut loose and party freely with friends and family?
"There will be places in New Orleans for rentals where people stay in one place and then have the parties at bars, if they want to rent out the whole bar, or other facilities," Speyrer explains.
This puts facilities like bars, halls, and hotels back in the party business, as they are more capable of holding events both large and small. However, Speyrer explains:
"We have the Essence gatherings going on and they'll have fewer opportunities for changes in their plans. And so the Essence visitors will be negatively impacted by the new policy."
Speyrer says we'll have to see what happens when Essence hits town and the effects of the short-term rental party ban are played out in real time.