You could be blocked from booking an Airbnb in Florida for New Year's. Here's why
ORLANDO, Fla. - If your New Year's plans include booking an Airbnb, you might want to familiarize yourself with the vacation rental website's anti-party policy.
Just like last year – and every year since 2020 – Airbnb will use "anti-party measures" to keep guests from throwing "unauthorized and disruptive" events at Airbnb homes over the New Year's holiday, according to a press release. Since implementing these party-prevention policies, Airbnb said it's seen a "meaningful decrease" in party reports in the U.S. on New Year's.
How do they do it? Using AI-powered technology.
"The aim of this system is to try to identify one, two and three night booking attempts for entire home listings over the holiday weekend that could be potentially higher-risk for a disruptive and unauthorized party incident and block those bookings from being made," Airbnb said in a news release.
To be more specific, this AI-powered technology factors in a few signs that point to a "higher-risk" booking, like how long the trip is, how far the listing is from their location, the type of house they're renting and if the reservation is made at the last-minute.
"Our AI technology will block certain one - three night entire home bookings identified as potentially higher-risk for a party incident," Airbnb said.
In 2022, over 5,400 people in Florida were blocked from booking an entire home listing on Airbnb. Miami saw the most blocked users, with about 800, followed by Orlando and Tampa with about 450 guests.
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"When it comes to how we use technology like AI, we’re focused on taking a thoughtful approach that aims to benefit Hosts, guests and neighborhoods. We’re optimistic these measures will help have a positive impact for the communities we serve," said Naba Banerjee, head of trust and safety.
In addition to the "global party ban," Airbnb also has other measures in place to ensure responsible travel over the holidays, including the Neighborhood Support Line and providing tips for Hosts.