Airbnb using AI to clampdown on anti-social tenants during holiday season

Airbnb in the UK is bringing in restrictions on certain bookings over New Year’s Eve to deter guests holding anti-social parties.

Proprietary anti-party Artificial Intelligence and machine learning technology are being activated in the UK.

This system aims 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 a 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.

“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 on the communities we serve” says Naba Banerjee, Head of Trust and Safety at Airbnb.

The measures will see:

- Restrictions on one-three night reservations – Our AI 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 New Years Eve that saw thousands of people globally blocked from booking an entire home listing on the platform, including approximately 13,200 people in the UK, 63,550 in the United States, and 5,400 in Australia. 

Moreover, since first introducing party prevention measures for New Year’s Eve in 2020, the short lets platform has seen a 73 per cent reduction in the rate of party reports made to us in the UK over this holiday.

In the UK, approximately 13,200 guests were blocked or redirected from attempting to book on Airbnb over New Year’s Eve. This includes approximately 3,300 in London, 2,100 in Manchester, 380 in Birmingham and 260 in Edinburgh. 

The measures include reservation screening, a noise sensor for hosts, and helplines for neighbourhoods and hosts.

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