Airbnb cracks down on parties ahead of Memorial Day weekend

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In preparation forMemorial Day weekend, Airbnb is using measures to stop parties in Georgia as a part of their disruptive party ban.

Credit: Airbnb/ X

Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Airbnb announced measures to reduce disruptive parties throughout Georgia over summer holiday weekends.

The measures are a part of their commitment to apply their disruptive party ban, which, if broken, may result in suspension or removal from the platform.

The most pressing measure of the restrictions on parties this summer is a “block on certain 1-night and 2-night reservations” over Memorial Day weekend and Fourth of July weekend for “entire home listings in Georgia and throughout the United States,” per their press release.

“The overwhelming majority of guests and hosts on Airbnb are respectful neighbors and travelers, and disruptive parties are rare,” Tara Bunch, Airbnb’s Global Head of Operations, said in a statement. “Our aim is to reduce the risk even more, and we’re optimistic these efforts will have a positive impact for hosts and local communities.”

Airbnb shared that they will use new technology during the two holiday weekends that will affect bookings classified as “potentially higher risk for safety and property damage incidents, like unauthorized parties.”

According to the official website, Airbnb technology might think customers have parties when they use their screening system, which signals to determine if the reservation carries a higher risk for safety and damage incidents. 

The automated screening processing considers several factors to determine risks, including:

• elements relating to the timing of the reservation, 
• prior reservations, 
• the guest’s Airbnb history, 
• listing characteristics (ex, private room vs. entire home), 
• and whether a review of recent message thread topics indicates a potential risk.

Airbnb explains that the automated assessment could mean that reservation requests will be allowed to proceed, rejected or flagged. Guests will need to acknowledge the company's damage policy before finalizing a reservation. Sometimes, the reservation is reviewed by a human agent, using tools and processes and additional assistance from a third-party risk specialist.

This review will consider factors about the requested reservation and prior reservations, such as recent reservation requests and the guest’s communications with Hosts of other listings. Following the review, the reservation will either be allowed to proceed or canceled. In certain circumstances, Airbnb may remove the account from the platform (applicable to users in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Australia and Portugal).

In 2023, Airbnb used similar tactics for Memorial Day and Fourth of July, which resulted in about 67,500 people throughout the U.S. being prevented from booking entire home listings for those weekends. 

In Georgia, however, Airbnb prevented about 3,100 people from booking entire home listings over the summer holiday weekends in 2023, with 2,400 bookings in Atlanta.