Airbnb Working to Identify, Remove Capitol Rioters From Site Ahead of Presidential Inauguration

Airbnb is cracking down on reservations in the Washington D.C. area ahead of the presidential inauguration in an effort to prevent those involved in last week's pro-Trump riots at the Capitol from booking a stay, a company spokesman shared with Travel + Leisure. 

The home-sharing company will remove anyone from the site who is found to have been involved in the deadly riots at the Capitol building on Jan. 6 and will use media reports, law enforcement sources, and cross-reference D.C. Metro Police arrest logs to identify them. The precautions are part of the company's "Capitol Safety Plan," which has been implemented ahead of the Jan. 20 inauguration.

"If the individuals have an Airbnb account, we take action, which includes banning them from using Airbnb," the company said in a statement on Monday. "If we confirm that any guests are associated with a hate group or otherwise not allowed on our platform for violating certain community policies prohibiting violence or engaging in criminal activity, we will cancel those reservations and ban them from Airbnb."

This isn't Airbnb's first effort to cancel reservations made by those identified as belonging to a hate group. Ahead of the Capitol riot, the company said it removed people from the platform when they were found to belong to hate groups, including the Proud Boys.

In addition to blocking people, the company said it may re-run background checks for potential guests and threatened legal action "if we learn that they or their additional guests are members of hate groups, planning violence or violating our policies or terms of service."

In the days since the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol, which took place as Congress was certifying President-elect Joe Biden's electoral college win, several groups have called for those involved to be placed on the federal no-fly list and barred from commercial flights.

Additionally, the National Parks Service has cancelled all tours at the Washington Monument ahead of the inauguration, through at least Jan. 24.

Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.

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