Party fouls: Airbnb removes dozens of 'party house' listings in Calgary and Edmonton

About 1,800 properties in Edmonton are listed on rental sites like Airbnb.

Calgary — A popular short-term vacation rental service has removed or suspended 44 listings in Alberta as part of its ongoing effort to crackdown on party houses.

As of Wednesday, 24 Calgary listings and 20 Edmonton listings are no longer available on the Airbnb platform as a direct result of neighbour complaints or rule violations.

According to Airbnb, the 44 hosts had been issued warnings before the decision was made to remove the listings.

"The vast majority of hosts in Alberta contribute positively to their neighbourhoods and economy, and they also take important steps to prevent unauthorized parties — like establishing clear house rules, quiet hours, and communicating in advance with their guests," said Airbnb officials in a statement released Wednesday. "Our actions today address the very small minority of hosts who have previously received warnings about hosting responsibly or have otherwise violated our policies."

Airbnb launched a neighbourhood support line in Canada in March where neighbours could report issues directly to an Airbnb employee regarding a property rented through the service. The company confirms some of the delisted Alberta party houses were identified as a result of calls to the support line.

According to Airbnb, a pilot initiative in Canada restricts bookings based on the age of the user and the proximity of the rental property to their home address. The company says "high-risk reservations" are automatically flagged and manually screened, as part of the effort to thwart unauthorized parties.