Vrbo and Airbnb might be bitter rivals when it comes to marketing and attracting new hosts - but there is one thing that the pair agree on: party houses are an ongoing issue and it needs fixing.
The two giants of the short-term rental world have decided to come together to try and address a specific element of the problem, when repeat offenders get delisted on one platform and then materialize on another.
Until now, both companies have created their own guidelines (Vrbo's Stay Neighborly and Airbnb's Neighborhood Support Line) to allow community leaders, neighbors and hosts to raise problems.
But Airbnb and Expedia Group's Vrbo have conceded that the challenges around party houses persist and further action is now required.
In a joint statement, they say: "Neighbors don't care if a party house is getting its reservations through any particular platform - they just want the parties to stop."
As a result the two companies have created the Community Integrity Program to develop a process that identifies properties that have been delisted by one company due to repeated violations of their guidelines.
It will then share the information so that the other company can take whatever action - i.e. another delisting - is necessary to prevent any issues in the future.
This could also apply to partying travelers that repeatedly violate policies of both companies.
The pair are hoping that other short-term rental platforms join them on the Community Integrity Program. "One platform alone can't solve this problem - it requires an industry-wide effort," they say.
The program will be focused on the U.S. and a third party vendor will be hired to oversee development of the program.
Vrbo says the party house issue only pertains to a handful of properties, primarily because its travelers tend to be "centered around whole family vacations."
An official says: "However, building community is at the heart of what we do, and in our view, even one party house in a community is too many."
Airbnb has faced a number of issues over the years with disruptive properties and guests, leading it to ban bookings of groups around key dates such as Independence Day.
The pair say they are working on ensuring the program complies with relevant data and privacy regulations.
