Airbnb on Wednesday said it’s canceling all reservations in the Washington, D.C. metro area for Inauguration week due to local and federal officials asking people to not travel to the nation’s capital.
“Airbnb’s work continues to be informed by inputs from our local host community as well as Washington, D.C. officials, Metro Police and Members of Congress throughout this week,” the company said in a blog post announcing its decision. “In particular, Mayor Bowser, Governor Hogan and Governor Northam have been clear that visitors should not travel to the D.C. Metro area for the Inauguration. Additionally, we are aware of reports emerging yesterday afternoon regarding armed militias and known hate groups that are attempting to travel and disrupt the Inauguration.”
Anyone that had reservations for the D.C. area will have their money refunded, Airbnb said. Airbnb also said it’ll be reimbursing its hosts for the lost revenue from canceled reservations. On top of canceling existing reservations, Airbnb also said its blocking users from scheduling new reservations for the D.C. area ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
The company’s decision comes after the storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Trump last week, an attack that resulted in five people dying. Airbnb on Wednesday said it had been investigating whether any of its users took part in the attack since last week.
“Through this work, we have identified numerous individuals who are either associated with known hate groups or otherwise involved in the criminal activity at the Capitol Building, and they have been banned from Airbnb’s platform,” the company said.
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