Airbnb is rolling out ‘new anti-party technology’ in North America

Image: Airbnb

The company has announced that it is testing anti-party technology in the US and Canada as it tries to enforce a global ban on house parties. The technology is designed to catch the kind of bookings that are likely to result in unauthorized parties by looking at factors like the age of the guests account, the length of stay they are requesting, and whether they are booking for a weekday or weekend.

In Australia, the company saw a 35 percent drop in unauthorized parties when it was testing similar technology. Since July 2020 it has been using a similar system in the US that focuses on guests under the age of 25. Younger guests weren't allowed to book large houses near where they live if they didn't have a good reputation. There is no mention of a maximum age limit in the newest release.

The company has been trying to stop parties for a long time. After five people died in a shooting at a Halloween party in California that over 100 people are thought to have been attending, it said it would ban "party houses" in 2019. The 2020 announcement was made as a result of the COVID Pandemic. The fear was that the closing of bars and clubs would encourage people to look for alternative ways to get around. Airbnb decided to keep its party ban in place despite the fact that most social distancing rules have been loosened.

According to the announcement post, guests who are blocked from booking to host unauthorized parties may still be able to make an alternative booking on the platform. They can book a private room instead of a whole house through the platform.

After rolling out its party ban in August 2020, the amount of party reports decreased by 44 percent. In total, it says it suspended the accounts of 6,600 guests for violating its anti-party rules, compared to the 150 million total users on its platform.