Airbnb using AI to help clampdown on New Year’s Eve parties globally

As communities around the world get ready to ring in 2024, Airbnb is bringing in restrictions on certain bookings over New Year’s Eve that aim to reduce the risk of unauthorised and disruptive parties in local neighbourhoods, and will be deploying AI-powered technology to help enforce them.

This proprietary AI and machine learning technology is being activated in several countries and regions globally. The aim of this system is to try to identify one, two and three night booking attempts for entire home listings over the holiday weekend that could be potentially higher-risk for a disruptive and unauthorised party incident and block those bookings from being made.

The technology looks at hundreds of signals that could indicate a booking is higher risk for this type of incident, like the duration of the trip the guest is trying to book, how far the listing is from their location, the type of listing they’re booking, and if the reservation is being made at the last-minute, among many more.

Naba Banerjee, Head of Trust and Safety at Airbnb, said, “When it comes to how we use technology like AI, we’re focused on taking a thoughtful approach that aims to benefit Hosts, guests and neighbourhoods. We’re optimistic these measures will help have a positive impact for the communities we serve.”

The countries and regions where these measures will be in effect are the US, including Puerto Rico, Canada, the UK, France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand, and will see:

• Restrictions on one-three night reservations – Our technology will block certain one – three night entire home bookings identified as potentially higher-risk for a party incident
• Mandatory anti-party attestation – Guests able to make local reservations will need to attest they understand Airbnb bans parties and that if they break this rule they face suspension or removal from the platform.

Airbnb brought in anti-party measures last NYE that saw thousands of people globally blocked from booking an entire home listing on the platform, including approximately 63,550 people in the United States, 13,200 in the UK, and 5,400 in Australia. Moreover, since first introducing party prevention measures for New Year’s Eve in 2020, we have seen a meaningful reduction in the rate of party reports to us over this holiday.

In Australia, of the approximately 5,400 guests blocked or redirected from attempting to book on Airbnb over New Year’s Eve, this included approximately 1,300 guests in Melbourne, 830 guests in Sydney, 320 guests in Gold Coast, 270 guests in Brisbane, 250 guests in Perth, 160 guests in Adelaide, and 20 guests in Hobart.

In New Zealand, approximately 880 guests were blocked or redirected from attempting to book on Airbnb over New Year’s Eve. This includes approximately 300 guests in Auckland, 45 guests in Christchurch, and 35 guests in Wellington and Queenstown.

Disruptive and unauthorised parties on Airbnb are rare, and these efforts build on existing measures and resources to promote responsible travel and help enforce our global party ban, which include:

• Reservation screening, which is in effect globally year round 
• A free noise sensor for Hosts in partnership with property tech company Minut
• Our Neighbourhood Support Line for local communities to report urgent issues, like a party in progress, at a home they believe is listed on Airbnb
• A 24-hour Safety line for Hosts and guests to directly reach our Safety team for support, such as to report a party 
• Tips for Hosts on preventing parties in their listing.