New rules put in place by Airbnb haven’t prevented hosts from listing their homes as a good place for an event, and it certainly hasn’t stopped parties from taking place.

Three young men died and two others were injured following a party hosted in an Airbnb rental over the weekend, the most recent in a string of violent incidents to have occurred at events hosted at apartments listed on the platform.

In November, a shooting in California left five dead, prompting Airbnb to announce a ban on “party houses.” The ban was intended to extend to Canada as well as the U.S.

The platform’s co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky announced at the time a development of safety initiatives within 10 days, as well as a “rapid response team” dedicated to respond to problematic reservations.

Chesky wrote in a Twitter thread that the platform would “(redouble) our efforts to combat unauthorized parties and get rid of abusive host and guest conduct,” expand manual screening of high-risk reservations, and take “immediate action against users who violate these enhanced guest policies, including removal” from the platform.

But the new rules certainly hasn’t stopped parties from occurring at listings hosted on Airbnb. Nor does it prevent hosts from listing their units as a good place for an event.

In a section of their website that houses news releases, Airbnb explains that “open-invite parties and events are banned in Airbnb accommodations.”

“Additionally, large parties and events are now banned in Airbnb listings in multi-family residences — such as apartment buildings and condos,” the post reads.

Airbnb appears to delist all homes where there has been violence.

In a search of the website, none of the homes identified as the scene of previous violence by the Star are still listed on the platform.

Both 791 Colter St. in Newmarket, the scene of a shooting in August where a high school student was killed at an after-prom party, and 5 Glenelia Ave. in North York, where a man was shot during a party, appear to have been removed.

So too has a listing on Timber Creek Ave. in Vaughan, where a man was shot at a “gathering.”

In an emailed statement to the Star on Monday, Airbnb said “we are deeply saddened by the tragedy that occurred in Toronto (on Friday) night and our thoughts are with all who have been impacted — including the victims and their loved ones as well as the neighbouring residents.

“We are in close coordination with Toronto Police Services to offer our full support of their investigation into this senseless gun violence. We have zero tolerance for this type of behaviour, and we ban both party houses and unauthorized parties on our platform.”

Speaking to reporters Monday, Mayor John Tory said the murders are “immensely frustrating” and tragic in terms of loss of life and trauma for people in the neighbourhood. City officials had discussions about the shooting over the weekend and Monday morning, Tory said, noting the condo building at 85 Queens Wharf already has significant constraints to rent out units short-term.

Gabor Forgacs, associate professor of hospitality and tourism management Ryerson University’s Ted Rogers school, told the Star that Airbnb is trying to increase its footprint in the market to include corporate travellers.

“Airbnb is trying to beef up their revenue sources and hopefully make a case for valuation whenever they want to go public,” he said.

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As such, “It’s a very delicate position in terms of how to exclude revenue sources. They try to walk a fine line — not to get a bad reputation, but not to encourage these horror stories” like the Queens Wharf or California shootings, he said.

Airbnb can only work with available data in order to rule out problematic hosts or guests, Forgacs said. While it would be tedious to work through manually, he explained that if they have the staff or can outsource the work, the platform could zero in on red flags. Public statements like those from Chesky in November are “expected” as a reaction to violence, Forgacs said.

“They have to show to the public that they care,” he said.

A search in Toronto for homes “suitable for events” yielded more than 300 listings. The Star looked at three listings that advertised themselves as being event- or party-friendly.

Event listings are not banned by Airbnb.

A West Queen West listing notes that weekends are exclusively available to host events. The listing requests no prom parties.

One listing, south of Highway 401 near Jane St., advertised a five-bedroom home with access to the main and second floors.

“We have no problem with the noise from parties,” the listing reads.

A townhome near Scarborough’s Malvern neighbourhood says it is “good for groups.” While there are tenants living in the basement apartment, “they are cool,” the listing reads.

“There are other permanent tenants in the basement, but they won’t complain about noise or disturb you. Just no noise after 1am,” the listing says.

That listing arguably contravenes Airbnb’s stated ban on parties in multi-family homes, as it is in both a townhome with neighbours on each side and a tenant in the basement.

With files from Ilya Banares and David Rider