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 introduced anti-party technology that examines the would-be renter's history on Airbnb, how far away they are from the home they want to rent, whether they re rent for a weekday or weekend, and other factors.
The screening system that it is rolling out for listings in the United States and Canada has been tested in parts of Australia since October last October, where it has produced a 35% drop in unauthorized parties.
The San Francisco-based company said the technology was designed to prevent a customer request for reservation from ever reaching the host of the property involved. People blocked from renting an entire home might be able to book a single room because the host is more likely to be around, according to Airbnb.
Since the Halloween house party in a San Francisco suburb ended with five people dead in a shooting, Airbnb has been under increasing pressure to reduce its parties.
The following year, Airbnb banned people under 25 from renting an entire house unless they had a positive review on the site, which resulted in a worldwide party ban on its listings. The ban on the party was initially cast as a temporary health measure during the pandemic, but was made permanent in June.