Does Airbnb’s ‘anti-party’ software work? 6,700 people in Texas found out

DALLAS — Last year, Airbnb rolled out a new “anti-party” software to prevent people from booking short stays and then holding a rager.

As it turns out, plenty of people in Texas found that out.

Airbnb officials on Monday said 6,700 people were deterred by the company’s anti-party systems from booking Tex as homes over Halloween weekend last year.

Airbnb revealed that nugget in a news release about the upcoming Halloween weekend, as it plans to continue its crackdown on guests booking homes solely to party.

Airbnb plans to “take action on certain local reservations made by guests without a history of positive reviews,” as part of the anti-party efforts.

The company said unauthorized parties dropped 37% in the U.S. and Canada last Halloween because of the anti-party software. Airbnb claims party reports have dropped 46% in Texas since 2020.

Here’s how it works, per Airbnb’s release.

For one-night reservations — Guests without a history of positive reviews on Airbnb will be prohibited from making one-night reservations in entire home listings.For two-night reservations — Guests attempting to book entire home listings without a history of positive reviews, within a certain locale, and/or last-minute reservations, will be redirected to listings that are not entire home listings or blocked altogether.  Guests who have a history of positive reviews on Airbnb will not be subject to these restrictions.For all guests attempting to make local reservations during the Halloween weekend, they must affirmatively attest that they understand that Airbnb bans parties and if they break that rule, they may be subject to legal action from the company (see example below).

Airbnb’s party crackdown comes as Fort Worth and Dallas have mulled regulations for short-term rentals, like Airbnb and VRBO, and Plano’s city council was also planning to discuss the issue at a council meeting Monday.

Arlington in 2019 banned short-term rentals in all areas except for a limited zone near the city’s sports venues and Six Flags Over Texas.