Booking giant Airbnb is implementing anti-party defences to prevent disruptive social events taking place in its properties again this summer season. The system screens potential booking requests for signs of a “disruptive party” and blocks attempts that are flagged as high risk.
The restrictions will come into force over the US Memorial Day and Fourth of July periods, in a move intended “to help hosts promote positive experiences in their homes and local neighborhoods,” Airbnb said in a press release.
What are the suspicious signs of a party?
Factors that could trigger a block on reservations include searches for one-to-two-night stays, the type of listing, the distance to the listing from the guest’s primary location and whether the booking is last minute.
The block is not definitive however, meaning guests who are prevented from booking an entire home will nonetheless be given the option to book alternative accommodation.
2025 marks the fourth year in a row that the short-term rental firm will roll out the proprietary software protections following tens of thousands of successfully blocked party bookings. Around 51,000 people across the United States were “deterred from booking an entire home listing on the platform across both summer holiday weekends” in 2024 alone, the company revealed, noting that the figure includes “approximately 7750 people in Texas, 7400 people in Florida, and 7030 people in California.”
The point is “to promote responsible travel and help hosts safeguard their spaces” the firm said, “especially during moments when demand is higher and the potential for disruption can increase.”
Since 2020, when Airbnb’s global party ban was introduced, reports of parties have been halved, and the firm calculates that in 2024, fewer than approximately 0.06 per cent of US reservations resulted in a party incident.
Other tools for hosts
The anti-party screening is only one of a number of tools and policies used by Airbnb. Active all-year-round, global reservation screening technology, “leverages machine learning to try to identify and deter higher risk bookings in the US and globally,” the firm explains.
The other support Airbnb offers to hosts ranges from the provision of noise sensors and passive guidance in a “Tips for hosts” section on its website, to more proactive interventions such as a Neighbourhood Support Line, a 24-hour Safety Line and a dedicated channel to access law enforcement.
The platform, founded in 2007 as a simple accommodation sharing and listing site, has expanded into an offer that includes a range of services and professional hosting to rival the hotel industry. Its model has become so synonymous with overtourism complaints focusing on housing shortages in destinations like Barcelona, that it has been regulated and banned in some places. Year on year Airbnb Inc had a net income fall of -44.74% from 4.79bn to 2.65bn despite an 11.95% increase in revenues.
