Airbnb offer hosts new solution for unauthorized parties

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) — Airbnb hosts who don’t want a party in their house can get a noise detector for free.

The company is partnering with Swedish tech company Minut and making noise sensors easy to any hosts who want them. This will help hosts prevent and detect problems in their home before they start.

“Over the past few years, we have gradually intensified our rules and systems around parties,” said Ben Breit, director of trust and safety communications at Airbnb.

In August 2020, Airbnb imposed a temporary ban on parties at all rental locations.

“Specifically in Colorado, year over year we’ve seen an approximately 50% reduction in the rate of unauthorized parties since we introduced this temporary ban. So we announced a few months ago that we were going to codify this prohibition. It’s no longer temporary. It will be the law of the land,” Breit said.

Minut noise detectors are a solution to help enforce this permanent ban.

“So it’s one thing to have strict policies, and I think we do, but kind of enforce those policies with technologies and also really partner with our hosts who also don’t want parties happen,” Breit said.

Hosts must indicate on their listing if they have a noise detector.

Guest privacy will be respected as the device does not record or transmit audio and only records decibel levels.

“So, for example, if an unauthorized party is coming up, you know, we’d say, ‘Hey, the decibel level’s been pretty high for a while. You might want to check in and remind the guest that there’s no party or anything like that,” Breit explained.

Airbnb goes one step further in its no-party policy on holidays like Halloween, when partying is more common.

Guests without a history of positive reviews will not be able to make reservations for one night on Halloween weekend.

Last Halloween in Colorado, about 1,700 people were unable to make reservations because of this system.

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