Airbnb has announced it is canceling and blocking all reservations in Washington D.C. during the week of Joe Biden's inauguration amid fears guests will travel to the nation's capital to incite further unrest.
The company on Wednesday responded to calls from city officials who urged Airbnb, VRBO and other rental hosts to take down their listings until Biden is sworn in on January 20, in the wake of last week's deadly riots.
Days earlier, Airbnb said it had been reviewing its bookings in the area and vowed to ban any guests associated with hate groups or violent activity.'Today, in response to various local, state and federal officials asking people not to travel to Washington, D.C., we are announcing that Airbnb will cancel reservations in the Washington, D.C. metro area during the Inauguration week,' the company said in a statement.
'Additionally, we will prevent any new reservations in the Washington, D.C. area from being booked during that time by blocking such reservations.'
Guests whose reservations are canceled will be refunded in full, the company added. Hosts will also be reimbursed for the money they would have earned, at the company's expense.
The move comes after Airbnb received 'inputs' from its local host community as well as D.C. officials, Metro Police and Members of Congress following the insurrection at the Capitol last Wednesday.
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