No parties allowed: Airbnb sets new rules for New Year’s Eve

NEW YORK: Airbnb is rolling out “anti-party technology” this New Year’s Eve to help prevent unauthorised and disruptive gatherings at homes listed on its platform.

If you were planning to host a party through Airbnb, you might want to start considering a backup plan.

The company is using machine learning to identify and block bookings that could potentially be used for parties. Airbnb looks at a variety of factors, like the length of your stay, how far the property is from your location and when you’re booking to assess whether the reservation might be risky.

For example, booking a two-night stay just days before New Year’s Eve could raise red flags and the system might either cancel your reservation or suggest alternative accommodations.

This technology is being used worldwide, with Airbnb focusing on countries like the US, UK, Canada, France, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand.

If you’re looking to book an entire home in these regions, you may need to commit to a stay of more than three days and agree to a mandatory anti-party attestation to complete your booking.

Airbnb’s effort to curb parties isn’t new. Last year, the company blocked 74,000 people from booking homes for events, and it has been using machine learning to prevent unauthorised gatherings for some time now.

This shift started back in 2019 after a tragic shooting at an Airbnb property left five people dead. In response, Airbnb banned “party houses” in 2019 and then prohibited all parties in 2020.

Since then, it has also provided hosts with tools to manage noise complaints, including free sensors to monitor loud noises in their homes.

Read next: SBP expected to cut policy rate by 200bps on December 16