Airbnb preps for ‘anti-party’ summer, wants neighbours to snitch

Airbnb is enacting an “anti-party crackdown” for the US summer holidays, extending measures aimed at retaining hosts after a pilot last year led to fewer reported parties over long weekends.

The vacation rental company said in a blog post on Wednesday (May 24) that it will implement its “anti-party” system for the Memorial Day and Fourth of July weekends, as it works to ease the strained relationship between hosts and guests. Airbnb revamped its platform earlier this month after chief executive Brian Chesky said the volume of complaints it was receiving was a “wake-up call”.

The system works to identify and then block one and two-night reservations that it believes are high-risk for unauthorised parties. Potential red flags include guest reviews and whether the booking is last-minute. Neighbours are also being encouraged to report parties to Airbnb’s support line. 

Airbnb introduced a global party ban in August 2020 and similar preventative measures have been in effect for Halloween and New Year’s Eve. Guests are required to make an “anti-party attestation” upon booking. Bloomberg