CINCINNATI — Anyone thinking of renting a local Airbnb to throw a little party may want to think again.
That's because, with the help of artificial intelligence, the service has just launched a major crackdown on parties in its rental homes.
Ron Kohlman will be very thankful for that.
A couple of years ago, Kohlman started renting his home on Airbnb, hoping to make some extra money while away on business trips. But one of his first experiences was a bad one.
"It was rented out for two guests," he said, "but from what the neighbors tell me they had about 30 people here."
The renters had turned it into a party house.
"It was a disaster," he said. "Bottles and cans were everywhere, floors were sticky, there was stuff on the walls, it was horrible."
Flagging high-risk reservations
These days, though, that's less likely to happen. With the help of AI modeling, Airbnb can now predict when a rental home may become a party home, and stop it before it happens.
A report in CNBC this month says "Airbnb's official party pooper has reduced partying by 55%," and plans to reduce it even more.
The report says AI algorithms will red flag what the site calls "high-risk reservations."
Warning signs a rental could become a party include:
- The renter lives in the same city he wants to rent in.
- It's a Friday or Saturday night rental.
- The renter is under age 25.
- The date is around the renter's birthday.
And that's a few of the warning signs Airbnb looks for, with CNBC saying its algorithms can even look at how far in advance the reservation is being made, since vacationers book months in advance while partiers book just a few days ahead in many cases.
Competitor VRBO has a similar no-party policy, but as it favors long-term rentals, it has not had as much of a party problem as Airbnb.
In the end, this is great news for anyone who lives with a short-term rental home on their street.
Things should be quieter, and that way you don't waste your money.
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