Wisconsin

Airbnb is blocking some Wisconsin rentals on summer holiday weekends to address partying

Published

2 years ago

May 24, 2024

Airbnb is blocking some Wisconsin rentals on summer holiday weekends to address partying

With summer weekend getaways fast approaching in Wisconsin, short-term rental company Airbnb is blocking some reservations to prevent homes from being used for partying.

Airbnb said in a press release that it blocked about 67,500 people over the Memorial Day and July 4 weekends last year, with about 500 of those blocked in Wisconsin. The company is blocking some one-night and two-night reservations over both holidays and using technology that they say identifies “higher-risk” rentals.

“This is really about respecting hosts and respecting neighborhoods,” said Christopher Nulty, Airbnb spokesperson and global director of corporate and policy communications, in an interview with the Journal Sentinel. “What we’re really talking about here is unauthorized, large-scale problematic parties.”

An Airbnb spokesperson said in an email the company wouldn’t have data on this year’s blocked reservations until after the holiday season. But Nulty said that the company sees this effort becoming especially important in Wisconsin during the summer months.

“We’re particularly focused on this in Wisconsin during the (summer) because it’s when people from Chicago go up to Door County. The business is strongest here in the summer,” Nulty said.

Nulty said the company is using machine learning to automatically flag some reservations.

He said its reservation system looks at a number of factors, like when a reservation is booked, how far away it is from where someone lives and whether someone has made similar bookings without challenges.

He said the technology has reduced reports of partying by half in the last year and that .035% of its reservations resulted in a party report to them in 2023.

The company is requiring guests to agree that they understand the ban on partying when making reservations. In turn, if a guest is blocked from booking an entire home, the company will give them the option of booking a hotel room or private room.

The party bans started in 2022, according to a USA TODAY report from that year, as the COVID-19 pandemic led some to use the rentals for partying, with bars and clubs closed.

Nulty said Airbnb began the effort to reduce partying on reservations as a way to respect the hosts, rather than responding to a widespread issue. He said Airbnb still allows homes to be used for things like weddings, birthday parties and other small-scale events.

The company heard from hosts and law enforcement in the past about the need for this emphasis, he said.

“People don’t want to share their homes if they’re worried about what’s going to happen to them,” Nulty said.

The company’s other anti-partying efforts include its Neighborhood Support Line, which lets neighborhood residents report issues at rentals to the company; a 24-hour safety line; noise sensors for hosts; and a law enforcement support channel.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin basketball signs Miami transfer Eian Elmer, who gives ‘scoring punch’

Published

2 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin basketball signs Miami transfer Eian Elmer, who gives ‘scoring punch’

The Wisconsin men’s basketball team has signed Miami (OH) transfer Eian Elmer.
Elmer, a 6-foot-7 wing, averaged 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds last season while shooting efficiently from 3-point range.
He is the third transfer portal addition for the Badgers this offseason.

Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.

Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.

Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.

“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”

Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.

The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin storms aftermath: Widespread damage, river flood warnings in effect

Published

15 hours ago

April 18, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin storms aftermath: Widespread damage, river flood warnings in effect

MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.

However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.

Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.

FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.

On the scene in the morning

What we know:

Farmstead damage in Franklin

FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.

Storm damage in Caledonia

Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.

FOX6 Weather Extras

Local perspective:

Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:

FOX6 Storm Center app

FOX LOCAL Mobile app

FOX Weather app

Maps and radar

We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.

FOX6 Weather Experts in social media

The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.

Severe WeatherNewsMilwaukee

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin transfer Aleksas Bieliauskas joins SEC team with ties to Badgers

Published

1 day ago

April 17, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin transfer Aleksas Bieliauskas joins SEC team with ties to Badgers

Former Wisconsin forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina.
Bieliauskas averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 rebounds as a freshman for the Badgers.
South Carolina’s head coach, Lamont Paris, is a former Wisconsin assistant coach.

MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.

Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.

Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.

He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.

Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.

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