More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Airbnb has codified a global policy that prohibits guests from hosting parties or events at any of its listed properties.
The policy comes after an initial ban, announced in August of 2020, which was intended to deter guests from welcoming unauthorized gatherings that exceeded 16 people during the height of COVID-19.
“We’ve historically allowed hosts to use their best judgement and authorize small parties – such as baby showers or birthday parties – if they’re appropriate for their home and their neighbourhood,” the vacation rental company said in a 2020 news release, when the ban was first announced.
“Some have chosen to take bar and club behaviour to homes, sometimes through our platform. We think such conduct is incredibly irresponsible – we do not want that type of business.”
With the initial ban implemented to help adhere to COVID-19 public health measures, it ultimately developed into much more, Airbnb explained in a news release on Tuesday. “It developed into a bedrock community policy to support our hosts and their neighbours.”
The company says its data shows a direct correlation between the implementation of the party ban in 2020 and a 44 per cent year-over-year drop in the rate of party reports.
“We’ve seen even more success in Canada, where there’s been a 47 per cent year-over-year drop,” a spokesperson for Airbnb wrote in an email to CTVNews.ca.
In Quebec, there has been a 61 per cent decline in year-over-year party reports since the ban was first implemented in 2020. Ontario and Alberta both saw a 40 per cent drop, and British Columbia’s party reports plummeted by 36 per cent.
But the new codified policy will come with some amendments to the original ban – such as expanding the guest cap for properties that can comfortably house more than 16 people, “from castles in Europe to vineyards in the U.S. to large beachfront villas in the Caribbean,” the news release explained.
Properties that are not capable of hosting more than sixteen guests will fall under the same rules of the 2020 policy.
So what does the codified ban mean for guests looking to gather a crowd?
“The policy will continue to include serious consequences for guests who attempt to violate rules, varying from account suspension to full removal from the platform,” Airbnb explained in the news release, also pledging to support platform hosts with property damage protection.
The company added that it will continue to restrict guests under the age of 25 without a history of positive reviews from booking entire home listings.
“Guests are still allowed to book private room listings, where generally the host lives on site,” Airbnb explained in Tuesday’s news release.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.