Airbnb cracks down on entire home bookings during summer holiday weekends
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The countdown continues as thousands head to the Grand Strand for Memorial Day Weekend, marking the unofficial start of the summer season.
As tourist and locals plan to celebrate the holiday in a big way, Airbnb is stepping up its efforts to keep house parties from getting out of control.
The company is cracking down on certain length stays for entire home listings across the state and nationwide during summer holiday weekends. During these weekends, Airbnb will not allow one or two-night bookings. However, it will only impact those booking who have negative reviews or those who have a history of disruptive partying.
The company is using an anti-party screening technology that targets bookings that show signs of higher risk. It looks at factors such as the type of listing, duration of stay and whether the booking is last minute. Bookings flagged as a high-risk are blocked automatically, such as those who have previously broken the companies’ policies.
The initiative was introduced in 2023, and Airbnb said the system successfully blocked more than 67,000 people nationwide from booking during these high-risk weekends, and around 1,000 across South Carolina.
Even though less than 1% of global reservations ended with a party report, Airbnb’s global head of operations said the company is committed to minimizing these isolated issues even further.
“We’re optimistic these efforts will have a positive impact for hosts and local communities,” Tara Bunch said.
Airbnb said those blocked from booking entire homes will be offered alternatives, such as private rooms or hotel rooms, where the host is more likely to be on-site. For those who successfully book their Airbnb must confirm they understand the company’s no party policy, or risk being removed from the platform.
Savannah Denton joined News 13 in July 2023 as a reporter and producer. Savannah is from Atlanta, Georgia, and is a graduate of the University of Alabama. Follow Savannah on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of her work here.
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