Airbnb will test 'anti-party tech' to stop disruptive events

Airbnb is introducing a system that will automatically flag high-risk properties to prevent unauthorised gatherings

Airbnb announced on Tuesday that the company will begin piloting new “anti-party technology” to automatically flag high-risk reservations. The announcement came after five people were killed in a shooting during a house party on an Airbnb property three years ago.

The incident dented Airbnb's reputation and it was criticized for letting its properties be used for unauthorized events that were at risk of getting out of control.

The company has since then tried to reduce the risk of guests using its listings for what it describes as “disruptive parties and events.” They placed a temporary ban on such gatherings two years ago, which was made permanent this June.

After successful testing in Australia, which saw a 35% fall in authorized gatherings at such properties, the company is ready to roll out the feature to US and Canada as well.

In its post, Airbnb said that the system will consider "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" as factors to determine if the property is at high-risk.

"The primary objective is attempting to reduce the ability of bad actors to throw unauthorized parties which negatively impact our hosts, neighbours, and the communities we serve.”

When a property is flagged as a high-risk reservation, bookings will not go through, and the guest will only be able to book a private room in a hotel or home with the present staff, instead of the whole property. Airbnb believes this system is a “more robust and sophisticated version” of an existing technology deployed in 2020 that focused on “guests under the age of 25 without positive reviews who are booking locally.”