Reservation screening technology designed to reduce the risk of disruptive parties was recently launched on the Airbnb app in South Africa. This follows a recent global pilot of this technology.

The system takes 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 booking history that may indicate a higher risk for this type of incident.

These factors include whether the guest has a history of positive reviews – or lack of positive reviews – the length of the trip, and if the booking is at a weekend or a weekday, among other considerations.

The 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, to prevent potential bad actors from taking advantage of the platform. 

During a recent global pilot of the new reservation screening technology, Airbnb saw reduced reports of parties where the pilot was in effect.

Since it implemented anti-party measures in August 2020, there has been a global 55% drop in party reports on the platform in two years.

Velma Corcoran, Regional Lead for Middle East and Africa at Airbnb, said: “We want to help hosts and neighbourhoods in South Africa to 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.”

Airbnb is optimistic that this system will have a positive impact on the South African community and support its goal to reduce the risk of safety and property damage incidents on Airbnb through the following initiatives:

• Launching the Neighborhood Support Line in South Africa, enabling neighbours to speak directly to Airbnb with urgent concerns about a nearby listing, like a potential party in progress. 
• The company’s 24-hour Safety Line allows hosts and guests to directly reach Airbnb’s safety team for help, such as to report an unauthorised party, during an active stay.
• The platform collaborated to offer a free noise sensor to hosts in 60-plus countries and regions.
• Airbnb shares tips for hosts on preventing parties in their listing and works with law enforcement in South Africa.