Almost 15,000 Australian guests prevented from making bookings as part of NYE anti-party crackdown

As part of its efforts to crack down on unauthorised parties and community disturbances in Australia over the recent New Year’s Eve, Airbnb prevented almost 15,000 guests from making bookings.

Announced in November ahead of the festive season and as part of ongoing efforts to tackle disruptive behaviour, Airbnb introduced these measures to give Hosts, guests and communities additional peace of mind over New Year’s Eve in Australia.

While the vast majority of Hosts and guests are responsible neighbours and travellers, Airbnb continues to work to be a good partner to local communities and to help strengthen Host and neighbourhood defences against unwanted behaviour.

We introduced a global party ban in 2020 to remind everyone who uses our platform that bad behaviour has no place on Airbnb, and these measures have been embraced by our Host community.

These measures included a ban on one-night bookings over NYE by guests without a history of positive reviews, among other restrictions. Guests blocked or redirected as part of these measures also included more than 2,700 in Melbourne, 1,600-plus in Sydney, and almost 880 in Perth. 

Susan Wheeldon, Airbnb country manager in Australia and New Zealand, said: “With tens of thousands of stays happening every night in Australia, the vast majority of guests treat their Hosts’ homes and neighbours with respect. 

“We remain committed to clamping down on parties and other disruptive behaviour. Everyone who uses Airbnb is expected to adhere to our community standards and help ensure each stay is a positive experience for Hosts and the wider community.

“As travel returns, we continue to work diligently to support tourism that is safe, responsible and benefits everyone.”

Today’s announcement follows a series of measures already implemented by Airbnb to deter parties and get tough on antisocial behaviour, including:

• Banning so-called ‘party houses’ globally
• Launching the Neighbourhood Support Line, a channel for neighbours to speak directly with someone at Airbnb about an urgent issue in their local community
• Rolling out Airbnb’s high-risk reservation screening system across Australia
• Enabling Hosts to cancel reservations penalty-free if they reasonably believe that a guest intends to hold an unauthorised party or event

In other cities, over 500 guests were impacted in Adelaide, over 140 in Canberra, over 20 in Darwin, over 700 on the Gold Coast, and over 70 in Hobart.