Airbnb Introduces New Anti-Party Technology in US And Canada

Airbnb has introduced new anti-party tools in the US and Canada to help identify potentially high-risk reservations and prevent those users from taking advantage of its platform.

In June, the American company that operates an online marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays for vacation rentals, and tourism activities, announced that its previously temporary ban on parties will become a codified policy. The company also stated that it is working to enforce that policy by taking measures to the best of its ability to take on unauthorized parties — meaning parties thrown without the knowledge or consent of Hosts.

The new system will look at factors like history of positive reviews (or lack of positive reviews), length of time the guest has been on Airbnb, length of the trip, distance to the listing, weekend vs. weekday, among many others. The primary objective is attempting to reduce the ability of bad actors to throw unauthorized parties which negatively impact the company’s Hosts, neighbors, and the communities it serves.

A similar variation of this system has been piloted in Australia since October 2021, where it’s been very effective. Airbnb has seen a 35 percent drop in incidents of unauthorized parties in the areas of Australia where this pilot has been in effect. “We are now ending the pilot phase in Australia and codifying this product nationwide. We are hoping for similar success as we begin testing this in the US and Canada,” the company said.

This anti-party technology is designed to prevent a reservation attempt from going through. Guests who are unable to make entire home bookings due to this system will still be able to book a private room (where the Host is more likely to be physically on-site) or a hotel room through Airbnb. 

The company said, “We anticipate that this new system will help prevent more bad actors on our platform while having less of a blunt impact on guests who are not trying to throw a party. While we are consistently willing to make trade-offs in the interest of building trust, our goal is to make these systems as precise and fair as possible to support our Hosts and guests.

“While we are optimistic that this technology will have a positive impact for the safety of our community and our goal to reduce unauthorized parties — we want to be clear that no system is perfect. We work hard to deter bad actors from using our platform, but ultimately Airbnb is an online platform that facilitates real-world connections. That’s why we continually seek to partner with experts and communities to complement their safety efforts, and we continue to invest in our Neighborhood Support Line to facilitate direct communication with neighbors regarding potential parties in progress or concerns with any nearby listings.”