Airbnb announces plan to crack down on New Year’s Eve parties

UPDATE:  This ongoing crackdown has been well-received by our Host community. Based upon their feedback, we are beefing up this anti-party initiative even further and expanding it to include three-night reservations as well. 

Airbnb is today announcing a plan to crack down on New Year’s Eve parties to protect Hosts and minimise neighbourhood disruption. The plan is underpinned by a ban on 1-night NYE bookings in entire home listings for guests without a history of positive reviews.

We first piloted these policies and restrictions last year for NYE 2020. These automated defences were effective against approximately 243,000 guests globally during booking attempts ahead of NYE 2020, including more than 18,000 guests in the UK: approximately 5,000 in London, 350 in Edinburgh, 290 in Bristol, 280 in Brighton, 230 in Bath, 160 in Glasgow, and 150 in Cardiff.

Effective today, the following criteria will be in place for guests attempting to book New Year’s Eve reservations in the UK, US (including Puerto Rico), Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, France and in Spain → 

• For one-night reservations — Guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb will be prohibited from making one-night reservations in entire home listings.
• For two-night reservations — As NYE approaches, we will deploy more stringent restrictions on two-night reservations that may pose heightened risk for disruptive parties. For example, we will leverage and amplify our technology that restricts certain local and last-minute bookings by guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb.
• Guests who have a history of positive reviews on Airbnb will not be subject to these restrictions.

“There are thousands of stays taking place across the UK each night with the overwhelming majority of guests being respectful of neighbours and delivering benefits to the local community. These additional proactive safety measures will help to block reservations that we know from experience can pose a slightly higher risk, and help to ensure Hosts, their guests and communities can enjoy their end of year celebrations with added reassurance.” 

Amanda Cupples, General Manager for Northern Europe at Airbnb

Today’s update follows the introduction of a series of measures by Airbnb to get tough on anti-social behaviour including the introduction of:

• A global party ban that has become a foundational component of our approach to trust and safety, and has been embraced by our Host community.
• The removal or suspension of more than 1,000 UK listings as part of a crackdown on so-called ‘party houses’.
• A pilot restriction that automatically prevents under 25-year-olds without a history of positive reviews from making certain bookings – this has blocked or redirected reservation attempts from nearly 375,000 people in the UK.
• High risk reservation technology to help combat parties and other neighbourhood disturbances before they start.
• The Neighbour Support Line and a guide for the UK Host community with Crimestoppers, which includes advice on how to stay safe while hosting and signs of potentially suspicious activity from guests.
• The UK Trust and Safety Alliance, a network of expert organisations that will work closely with Airbnb in the UK and provide information and guidance to Hosts and the Airbnb community. 

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This press release encourages safe and responsible travel. Local and international travel requirements, as well as health guidelines, continue to change quickly. Check local restrictions at home and in your destination before booking a trip on Airbnb.