San Francisco-based Airbnb to ban one-night rentals on Halloween weekend to crack down on party houses

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Airbnb will prohibit one-night rentals over Halloween weekend as part of its ongoing effort to crack down on party houses.

The ban will impact those particular rentals of entire homes in the U.S. and Canada on Oct. 30 or Oct. 31.

The action comes nearly a year after a deadly shooting at a home in Orinda, where five people were killed during a Halloween party.

RELATED: No charges to be filed against 5 suspects in deadly Orinda shooting

Airbnb says previously booked rentals will be cancelled and refunds will be offered.

The move doesn't impact two and three night reservations, but the company says that could change, as it will take a closer look at these reservations as well.

A guest may be denied, for example, if they try to book a whole home close to their own home during that period, and they don't have a history of positive reviews on Airbnb.

Last November, it started manually reviewing U.S. and Canadian reservations to weed out suspicious rentals.

The company's efforts have intensified as it prepares for an initial public stock offering, which could come later this year.

RELATED: Airbnb house party with more than 700 people broken up in NJ

In July, the company banned U.S. and Canadian guests under age 25 with fewer than three positive reviews from booking entire homes close to where they live. That policy was later expanded to the United Kingdom, Spain and France.

And in August, Airbnb banned parties worldwide and limited occupancy at its rentals to 16 people.

Airbnb has also warned guests and hosts that it could take legal action against violators. In August, for the first time, it started legal proceedings against a guest who held an unauthorized house party in Sacramento, California.

Associated Press contributed to this report