Airbnb Rolls Out New Anti-Party Tech To Prevent Unapproved Gatherings

Airbnb is piloting new anti-party technology in the U.S. and Canada in its ongoing efforts to fend off users who are looking to book a house to throw large, unapproved gatherings. Fast Company reports: The vacation rental company tells Fast Company the new tech is aimed at identifying "potentially high-risk reservations." Airbnb will be looking at factors like a user's history of positive reviews and history with the service, length of the requested booking, distance from their home to the booking, and whether it's booked for a weekend or weekday. The new tech is meant to flag and prevent suspect bookings from being sent to the host for approval, so homeowners can approve bookings without fear of property damage or noise complaints. People who have been blocked from booking an entire listing because of the new system will still be able to book a single room in a whole residence, since the host is more likely to be on the premise, or a hotel room.

Airbnb has been testing the tech in Australia since October 2021 and says it's seen a 35% drop in unauthorized parties in areas where the pilot was in effect. The safety tool has rolled out nationwide in Australia and will now be tested in the U.S. and Canada. The latest update builds off the company's "under-25" system, which blocks users under the age of 25 from booking entire properties close to where they live until they have at least three positive reviews. The company said in a statement that the new system is meant to prevent more party-seeking users from booking, "while having less of a blunt impact on guests who are not trying to throw a party."

Party pooper

[slazzy]

I bet their developers aren't much fun at parties

Re:

[Applehu Akbar]

A special party-pooping missile is under development that releases silver iodide over the target, promoting rainfall. The latest beta adds scorpions to the mix.

Re:

[DarnOregonian]

In Soviet Russia, the party locates YOU.

Re:

[anonymouscoward52236]

Test dev

obligatory reference

[Eubeleus]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

Next step: Facebook buyout

[dgatwood]

The next step is for Facebook to buy them out and use the technology to automatically advertise the party instead.

Anti spy technology.

[fermion]

Do they have a system in place to protect renters from being spied on or raise by the owner? That would be innovative.

Re:

[Petersko]

Nice non sequitur. There's no easy technical answer to that one. Their anti-party choices, on the other hand, seem like they might have an impact.

And how many false positives were there?

[psychonaut]

Airbnb has been testing the tech in Australia since October 2021 and says it's seen a 35% drop in unauthorized parties

And what's the corresponding figure for the drop in legitimate bookings because the system misidentified perfectly innocent bookings as party bookings?