(Reuters) – Home-sharing giant Airbnb and HotelTonight, which it bought in 2019, are blocking and cancelling all hotel reservations in the Washington DC Metro area during the week of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, it said on Wednesday.
“This decision was informed by inputs from our host community as well as local, state and federal officials,” Airbnb said in a brief statement.
Airbnb said it had banned from its platform some individuals who were found to have ties with hate groups or were involved in last week’s deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol.
“We are aware of reports emerging yesterday afternoon regarding armed militias and known hate groups that are attempting to travel and disrupt the Inauguration,” Airbnb said.
The company did not immediately specify if its decision to block reservations was a result of a request from law enforcement agencies.
(Reporting by Anirban Sen in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
