Airbnb announced that it had launched innovative reservation screening technology designed to reduce the risk of disruptive parties in South Africa.
The launch follows a recent global pilot of this technology that saw a reduction in reports of parties.
According to the e-hosting platform, this system aims to help reduce the risk of disruptive parties on Airbnb by taking steps to identify potential higher-risk reservations and prevent those bookings from being made.
“The technology looks at factors relating to the guest’s account and their booking that may indicate a higher risk for this type of incident.
“These factors include things like whether the guest has a history of positive reviews (or lack of positive reviews), the length of the trip, the distance to the listing, and if the booking is on a weekend or a weekday, among other considerations,” said Airbnb.
The e-hosting platform said progress in bringing this technology to South Africa follows the codification of the platform's party ban last year.
“To support enforcing this ban, Airbnb’s Trust team designed a reservation screening technology to help reduce the risk of disruptive parties, with the aim of preventing potential bad actors from taking advantage of the platform,’’ said Airbnb.
The e-hosting platform also revealed that since implementing the anti-party measures in August 2020, there had been a global 55% drop in party reports on the platform in two years.
Commenting on the Velma Corcoran, Airbnb regional lead for Middle East and Africa said: “We want to help hosts and neighbourhoods in South Africa enjoy the benefits of local tourism while taking steps to crack down on bad actors and behaviour unwelcome on Airbnb or in the communities we serve.”