Airbnb Is Rolling Out New Screening Tools to Stop Parties

SAN FRANCISCO — Airbnb says it will use new methods to spot and block people who try to use the short-term rental service to throw a party.
The company said Tuesday it has introduced technology that examines the would-be renter’s history on Airbnb, how far they live from the home they want to rent, whether they’re renting for a weekday or weekend, and other factors.
Airbnb stated that the screening system it will use to list in Canada and the United States has been in place since October last year in Australia. It showed a drop of 35% in illegal parties.
The San Francisco-based company said the technology is designed to prevent a customer’s request for reservation from ever reaching the host of the property involved. Airbnb claims that people who are prevented from renting an entire house might still be able book one room, as the hosts will be more available.
Since 2019, Airbnb is under increasing pressure to curb party-goers since a house party at a San Francisco suburb’s Halloween ended in five deaths in a shooting.
Airbnb announced that it would ban all parties from its listings. People under 25 could not rent a house next to their own home, unless there were positive reviews. The ban on party rentals was originally intended to be temporary in the wake of the pandemic. It was then made permanent.
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