Unfortunately, Airbnb seems to be holding the line on blocking home rentals to people under 25, even after America emerges from lockdown – and it seems like more bookings are being blocked than we knew.
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Airbnb says its anti-party security system has blocked more than 100,000 “suspicious” bookings in the US since it launched last July.
Airbnb's system prevents guests who are 24 years old or younger and have fewer than three positive Airbnb reviews from booking entire homes near where they live. The initiative was first launched in Canada in 2020 after a spate of violent house parties.
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Airbnb confirmed the following data for its blocked booking system. Los Angeles tops the list with at least 15,000 party cancellations in the past year. Atlanta and Chicago are the next most blocked cities, with about 12,000 and 10,000 blocked bookings respectively.
- 15,000 in Los Angeles
- 12,000 in Atlanta
- 10,000 in Chicago
- 7,000 in Dallas
- 6,000 in San Diego
- 5,100 in Charlotte
- 5,000 in Phoenix
- 4,500 in Las Vegas
- 4,500 in Seattle
- 3,800 in Austin
- 3,500 in St. Louis
- 3,000 in Columbus
- 2,700 in New Orleans
- 2,600 in Denver
- 2,600 in Portland
- 2,000 in Cincinnati
- 1,800 in Salt Lake City
- 1,500 in Albuquerque
The system doesn’t block single-room or hotel room reservations. It will also allow entire house reservations from users 24 and under if they have a good Airbnb rating or long-term rental plans. If your reservation is blocked, you’ll find out at the time of your attempted reservation, Airbnb spokesperson Ben Breit tells Mashable. Breit stressed that the initiative focuses on “unauthorized parties — meaning a party that happens without the knowledge or consent of the hosts.”.
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Safety has become a major focus for Airbnb amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This spring, the platform implemented an eight-point plan for “responsible summer travel,” which included limiting bookings over the Fourth of July weekend for guests and offering 24/7 customer service, as well as discounts on noise-detecting devices to hosts.
Information source: mashable.com
