COLLEGE PARK, Ga. — Airbnb is cracking down on people throwing New Year’s Eve parties in their properties.
They put anti-party technology in place to curb people trying to book one to three-night reservations this weekend and on New Year’s Eve.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
“The problem you have is when people rent your house saying it’s 3 or 4 people, and it ends up being 30 or 40 people who are at the house, then you’re disrupting the neighbors,” said Cortney Newmans who currently owns four Airbnbs in Metro Atlanta and Athens. “Especially if they know you’re doing Airbnb and are looking after your property,” Newmans added. “Then you have a party, then that’s going to deter them from saying ‘hey we want Airbnb in this neighborhood’, especially if you have an HOA.”
Airbnb began cracking down on parties back in 2020. They look for high-risk bookers which the company determines by factors like the length of the stay, the type of listing someone is trying to book, and how far the booking is from where the guest lives.
TRENDING STORIES:
- End the year with $1.2 billion in your bank account with Friday’s Mega Millions drawing
- Grab an umbrella! Rain moving in tonight and staying through the weekend
- Lawmakers can subpoena DA Fani Willis for information on case against Pres.-elect Trump, court rules
Last year, Airbnb said the technology deterred around 33,000 people from booking New Year’s Eve parties across the country. In Georgia, that number was near 1800, and in Atlanta, around 730 people were deterred from booking.
“While issues are rare, we want to do our part to help reduce the risk of unauthorized and disruptive parties. Airbnb is committed to supporting hosts and the communities they live in, and we hope these defenses allow guests, hosts and neighbors to celebrate the holiday with added reassurance,” said Tara Bunch, the Global Head of Operations at Airbnb.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Newmans said he wouldn’t be banking on income from New Year’s Eve but says he understands that there are some owners who do. However, he said the wrong party can set an owner back financially.
“If you have guests maybe 200 nights out of the year, you may have 5 or 10 parties, but those 5 or 10 parties could cause you to lose your whole year’s profits,” Newmans said.
He said someone broke into one of his rentals to throw a party and cost him nearly $4000 worth of damage.
“The sofas were damaged,” Newmans said. “We had food stains and drink stains.”
Airbnb says if a booking is flagged during the holiday weekend, the guest could be blocked, or the site will redirect them to other accommodations on the platform.
©2024 Cox Media Group
