In Australia, Airbnb is rolling out anti-party technology more than a month after banning parties from its listings.
The company banned parties in August 2020 when COVID 19 lock downs meant places such as pubs and nightclubs were closed, prompting some to move their partying to venues such as holiday rentals.
The ban on the party was made permanent by Airbnb at the end of June.
In a statement on the company's website, Airbnb said that it was introducing anti-party tools in the US and Canada that aim to identify potentially high-risk reservations and prevent users from taking advantage of our platform.
Since October 2021, similar systems have been trialled in some parts of Australia.
It's not clear which areas of Australia were part of the trial, but Airbnb said that the pilot was very effective. The company said it saw a 35 per cent drop in unauthorised parties in parts of Australia where the system was trialled.
It's now ending the pilot phase in Australia and codifying this product nationwide, Airbnb said.
Airbnb said it was optimistic that the company would reduce unauthorised parties, but they said they wanted to be clear that no system is perfect. We work hard to deter bad actors from using our platform, because Airbnb is an online platform that facilitates real-world connections.
Does that mean people caught by the system can't book anything?
People who can't make a reservation for an entire home will still be able to book a hotel room or private room where the host is more likely to be physically on site, according to Airbnb.
What does Airbnb mean as a party?
When we asked Airbnb for a definition of party when it banned certain parties from its listings, a spokesman said:
Can hosts allow parties to be allowed if they want to?
Most hosts can't.
Hosts that allow guests to throw parties may be subject to account consequences up to, including the removal of their listing, according to Airbnb's Parties and Events Policy page.
The policy has different rules for traditional hospitality venues like boutique hotels.