Airbnb’s anti-party technology takes effect over July Fourth holiday weekend
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US: Short-term rental platform Airbnb is utilising anti-party technology across the US to block high-risk reservations ahead of the July Fourth holiday.
The platform has used these technologies over the past four years. The company previously reported that they have prevented more than 51,000 potential party-related bookings during Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends in the United States – two of the busiest travel periods in the country.
Airbnb’s system flags booking patterns such as listing type, stay duration, travel distance and last-minute reservations to predict potential party bookings.
Since its implementation, the technology has only flagged 0.15% of global bookings as potential parties. If a reservation is flagged, Airbnb will refer the guest to another property.
The company is applying the technology to minimise community disturbances over July Fourth, a holiday typically associated with large gatherings and celebrations.
According to Jackie McGraw, a spokesperson for Airbnb, if a guest if mistakenly flagged and still wants to book a reservation, they must sign a ‘anti-party attestation’ – a contract pledging not to host a party at the rental.
