Airbnb announced on Wednesday it is cancelling all reservations in the D.C. area for inauguration week after facing criticism for hosting supporters of President Trump during last week’s violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The company wrote in a statement it took the decision “in response to various local, state and federal officials asking people not to travel to Washington, D.C.”

It is unclear how Airbnb defines the Washington metro area and how far, geographically, the ban on bookings extends. And as of Jan. 13, local listings are still available on Airbnb’s site for the week of the inauguration. It’s unclear when the company will block their booking calendars.

Since last week’s events, there have been reports of more violence planned during the inauguration of Joe Biden, as well as in the days leading up to it.

On Monday, Mayor Muriel Bowser issued a notice asking Americans not to come to Washington D.C. for the event and instead “participate virtually,” given spikes in coronavirus cases across the country (President-elect Biden’s inaugural committee began discouraging attendance mid-December.)

In addition, Mayor Bowser asked the Department of Interior Secretary to cancel all public gathering permits in D.C. between Jan. 11-24.

John Falcicchio, deputy mayor for economic development and planning, wrote in a message to DCist/WAMU that he supports Airbnb’s decision. “In these days leading up to the Inauguration, we must all understand that we are now in a post-January 6th America, so we are encouraged that the business community continues to step up to implement measures to protect life and property in the District of Columbia and beyond,” he said.

The decision comes as Washingtonians on Nextdoor, Twitter, and Facebook have been urging Airbnb hosts to remove their properties from the platform ahead of the inauguration.

James Zachary Benson, a Mt. Pleasant resident, led a Twitter campaign urging opposition to Airbnb rentals during inauguration week with the hashtag #DontRentDC. It began trending within a day, attracting support from activists and elected officials.

Benson said he was in “shock” at Airbnb’s announcement.

“This is more than I ever could’ve hoped for. This started as a spur-of-the-moment, like ‘how can I go viral to do the right thing.’ But to see the actual company not only cancel all reservations but reimburse individuals in my communities the cost…I cannot believe that it would be that good,” he said. “It’s such a human act from an otherwise cold world.”

Benson’s campaign, as well as others’, focused primarily on Airbnb, but his attention has now turned to other companies. “We’re absolutely still waiting for a response from VRBO and hotels in the area.”

Newly elected advisory neighborhood commissioner Sherene Joseph, who represents a district near downtown D.C., joined in on Benson’s campaign and told DCist she also supports Airbnb’s decision. A former Airbnb host herself, she remembered how before Trump won the 2016 election, fellow hosts raised their rental prices in anticipation of a Clinton inauguration.

“Inauguration is like a once-in-four-year opportunity to make a lot of money,” she tells DCist/WAMU.

But this year, Joseph says, there are bigger considerations, including the pandemic and the possibility of violence from guests traveling to the city.

“I think this is a stellar response from Airbnb and I hope that similar companies like VRBO, private short term rental operators and anyone in the hospitality industry uses this as a template for what they should do next week,” she tells DCist.

According to Airbnb, guests whose reservations were cancelled will get a full refund. The company also promised to reimburse hosts for lost income due to the cancellations. But, hosts who proactively blocked off the dates around inauguration, or took down their listings entirely, will not get any reimbursement.

Paul, an Airbnb host in Columbia Heights, inadvertently hosted a Trump group last week and is “irate” with Airbnb for not addressing his concerns then. He removed his Airbnb listing for the week of the inauguration in an attempt to avoid a similar experience, and could lose out thousands of dollars for making that choice ahead of time.

“By taking action myself, I’m being punished economically?” he asked.

Paul asked not to be identified using his last name, for fear of retaliation from last week’s guests.

José, an Airbnb host also in Columbia Heights, feels “torn” about the decision, which he describes as both a “well-intentioned move” as well as a political one. After unexpectedly hosting a supporter of QAnon for last week’s rallies, he decided to keep his reservation for the inauguration after vetting his guest again. José asked to be identified without his last name for fear of retaliation from his prior guest.

“I think [Airbnb’s decision] is a fair compromise of competing interests but I’m sure it’s going to hurt a lot of people,” he said, citing guests’ inability to find affordable lodging in D.C. and the loss of income for hosts.

José was also disappointed by the rollout of the policy. He read about about the decision on social media and didn’t hear from Airbnb until hours later. His reservation for inauguration week still appears when he logs into his account.

In response to concerns over who uses its platform, Airbnb says it has been conducting its own investigation, trying to weed out users who participated in last week’s insurrection. “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 wrote.

Meanwhile, some activists are pressuring hotels and other home rental companies to follow Airbnb’s example and cancel all reservations.

https://twitter.com/ShutDown_DC/status/1349383294287282176?s=20

While at least one hotel, The Line in Adams Morgan, is shutting down for the inauguration, not all are following suit. Opting not to cancel existing inauguration reservations, home rental site Vrbo instead asked users to “follow local government regulations and check the latest news for updates.”

Martin Austermuhle and Rachel Kurzius contributed to this report.

This story has been updated to include the latest information from Airbnb, quotes from Airbnb hosts and Vrbo’s policy.