Key Takeaways
– Airbnb New Years Eve crackdown will see ban on some guests making one-night NYE bookings in 11 countries.
– It is estimated that defenses contributed to 56% drop in NYE party incident rates, as 340,000 people encountered these defenses last year.
WEBWIRE – Friday, December 9, 2022
Today, were announcing heightened rules and technologies aimed at helping to stop unauthorized parties over New Years Eve in 11 countries, following a successful trial last year.
We know the overwhelming majority of guests are respectful neighbors and travelers, and that the vast majority of Hosts share their homes responsibly. Equally, we are committed to reducing instances of unauthorized parties and helping Hosts protect against neighborhood disruption, and certain times of year, like New Years Eve, can attract a higher risk of unauthorized or disruptive parties.
To that end, we are introducing restrictions on certain types of bookings over New Years Eve. These restrictions will see a ban on one-night bookings of entire home listings for guests without a positive account history or no previous bookings at all on the platform. Were also introducing tighter restrictions for those same guests who try to book two- and three-night reservations, with an emphasis on attempts to book locally.
The restrictions will be in effect over the New Years Eve weekend in 11 countries, including the US (including Puerto Rico), Canada, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, France, Spain, the UK, and new for 2022 Ireland, Portugal and the Netherlands.
Naba Banerjee, Director of Trust Product and Operations at Airbnb, said, Stays take place across the world each night on Airbnb, with the overwhelming majority of guests and Hosts being respectful of neighbors and delivering benefits to their local community. These proactive defenses will help to promote responsible travel and help to prevent rare instances of unwelcome behavior, and enable Hosts, guests and communities to enjoy their end of year celebrations with added reassurance.
This wider roll out follows the successful trial of these automated defenses in eight countries over NYE last year as part of our efforts to help enforce our global ban on parties, which we codified earlier this summer. We estimate that the measures have contributed to a year-over-year global drop in rates of party incidents over NYE of roughly 56 percent, since the defenses were first piloted in 2020. Last year, approximately 340,000 guests globally were blocked or redirected from attempting to book on Airbnb over NYE, including more than 120,000 guests in the US, over 34,500 guests in the UK, and almost 13,000 guests in Australia1.
Since piloting these restrictions for the first time for NYE 2020, theyve become a cornerstone of our commitment to tackle disruptive parties and neighborhood nuisance, and have been well-received by our Host community.
Were continuously exploring further opportunities around the world to introduce these types of initiatives, and build on our existing measures and resources to promote responsible travel on Airbnb and enforce our anti-party stance. These measures include:
- The launch of reservation screening technology, which blocks certain bookings that show an increased risk for disruptive parties and property damage
- A free noise sensor offer for Hosts in partnership with property tech company Minut
- The codification of our global party ban
- The expansions of our Neighborhood Support Line for local communities, and our 24-hour safety line for Hosts and guests to directly reach our Safety team for support
- Tips for Hosts on preventing parties in their listing.
- Based on internal Airbnb data.
About Airbnb
Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals in almost every country across the globe. Every day, Hosts offer unique stays and experiences that make it possible for guests to connect with communities in a more authentic way.