The New Year, which will be celebrated in two days, rhymes with parties, but also often with abuse. Loud partygoers are no longer welcome on Airbnb. For more than three years, the tourist rental platform continues to harden its tone and strengthen its arsenal against troublemakers. After strongly advising owners to install noise detectors, Airbnb has stepped up and even banned bookings deemed risky over the New Year’s weekend. The platform uses very advanced technology to detect them. Currently fashionable: artificial intelligence.
The algorithm will analyze “hundreds» factors such as length of stay, but also the distance between the rented accommodation and the tenants’ homes. The shorter it is, the greater the risk of nuisance because if the properties are close, it’s a safe bet that there will be many tenants. Another clue: date of reservation. If it was made at the last minute by an unknown Airbnb user, the owner may consider it suspicious and request a free cancellation from the platform. He will have to provide evidence such as reports. For example, if an Internet user making a last-minute reservation asks you if the property has a lot of parking spaces, this exchange can serve as evidence.
55% drop in reporting
Bookings for one, two or three nights around New Year’s Eve are limited. For those eligible, tenants must sign a certificate agreeing not to host parties. In case of non-compliance with this rule, they risk suspension or even simple deletion of their account on Airbnb.
Since the introduction of these drastic measures in 2020, the platform claims to have seen a 55% drop in anti-holiday messages in France. Last year, around 28,000 bookings were canceled or diverted to another type of accommodation, including 4,100 in Paris, 1,300 in Lyon, 820 in Marseille, 690 in Toulouse and 580 in Montpellier.
Is this device legal? “Yes, subject to the person’s permission (Airbnb user) be informed and have the opportunity to challenge the decision», specifies Jérôme Deroulez, lawyer in the field of personal data law and new technologies. This is because when a booking is blocked, the user receives a message from Airbnb accompanied by a “party risk” warning. He can contact the platform to find out more or even challenge the decision.