This weekend, police will be on high alert across the U.S. for New Year's Eve shenanigans and so will home rental company, Airbnb, which is launching a new crackdown on unauthorized parties in the Dallas area.
Airbnb announced it is heightening its defenses to prevent disruptive parties during the NYE weekend, as the company says it continues to draw a hard line on disruptive parties and emphasize safe and responsible travel during a weekend where some may be more inclined to try to throw an unauthorized party.
This weekend, there will be a ban on certain one-night bookings during New Year’s Eve for entire home listings. These defenses are in effect for those without a positive account history or no previous bookings at all on the platform
There are also tighter restrictions for those same guests who try to book two and three-night reservations, with an emphasis on attempts to book locally.
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Airbnb said this method was tested in Dallas last New Year’s Eve with success, preventing more than 2,400 one-day bookings from happening. It has also been piloted in other cities around the world since 2020, most recently in the U.S. during Halloween, which has led to a global drop of New Year's party incidents by 56 percent.
"Just because you don't have reviews doesn't mean that you're up to no good. Everyone starts somewhere. But what we see is that people who have earned that history of positive reviews have earned that trust or Airbnb, do not all of a sudden turnaround and throw 100 person party,” said Ben Breit, director of trust and safety communications for Airbnb.
The restrictions will be in effect over the New Year’s Eve weekend in 11 countries, including the United States.
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“Stays take place across the world each night on Airbnb, with the overwhelming majority of guests and Hosts being respectful of neighbors and delivering benefits to their local community. These proactive defenses will help to promote responsible travel and help to prevent rare instances of unwelcome behavior, and enable Hosts, guests and communities to enjoy their end of year celebrations with added reassurance,” said Naba Banerjee, Director of Trust Product and Operations at Airbnb.
Airbnb officials told NBC's Dallas affiliate NBC 5 these new restrictions happening this weekend are all part of the company's anti-party prevention systems, including a focus on guests under 25, noise sensors for hosts, and an all-out ban on parties, which was codified over the summer.
"There are always going to be people who don't care what the rules are, and attempt to break those rules,” said Breit. "We don't want parties, or unauthorized parties especially, happening on our platforms. Even though it's rare, it's just not a good thing. It can be disruptive for our hosts, it can be disruptive for our neighbors."
Airbnb also operates a 24/7 Neighborhood Support Line. They're encouraging anyone to use it if they think a neighboring rental is breaking the rules.
You can read more about the New Years’ Eve 2022 crackdown here.
