Colleges Punishing Students Listing Dorms on Airbnb

Schools may not be aware that their dorms are listed on the apartment rental service website.

Several colleges have begun experiencing a new phenomenon on campus: students renting out their dorm rooms on Airbnb.

Schools such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and the University of Chicago have dorms listed on the renting service website, according to the Huffington Post.

RELATED: 10 Common Dorm Security Challenges and Their Solutions

Some schools may not be aware of the listings while others have taken steps to punish students attempting to rent out their dorms. A petition was signed by 300 people at Emerson College in support of a student after the school forced him to take down his dorm listing.

In that case, the student had his apartment on the site for two weeks and had three guests over that time. The student now faces several charges of misconduct.

Most schools have policies in place banning the practice of renting out dorm rooms and recognize that allowing strangers to stay in dorms represents a significant risk to dorm security.

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