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Airbnb blocked 11,000 bookings in Arizona last year with 'anti-party' system

The vacation rental company Airbnb announced Wednesday approximately 11,000 Arizona bookings were blocked last year using the company’s “Under 25” anti-party system.

ARIZONA, USA — Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast. 

The vacation rental company Airbnb announced Wednesday approximately 11,000 Arizona bookings were blocked last year using the company’s “Under 25” anti-party system.

The company implemented restrictions on some bookings by guests under the age of 25 who have negative reviews or fewer than three positive reviews.

Airbnb launched the anti-party initiative in the Summer of 2020 to prioritize public health during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as to try to prevent and deter community disruption and parties.

The company instituted several systems designed to block and stop potential unauthorized parties from booking vacation rentals.

In February of last year, the company suspended 70 homes in Arizona for violating its COVID-19 party policies.

To help enforce the policy during popular booking times like the holidays, Airbnb started to ban one-night bookings in entire home listings for guests without a history of positive reviews.

“We believe it worked. Those weekends were generally quiet, and these initiatives were well-received by our Host community,” said Airbnb spokesman Aaron Swor.

On July 4, 2020, the system stopped more than 3,200 bookings, on Halloween, more than 2,100 were blocked and on New Year's Eve, more than 2,900 people were stopped from booking.

To read more about the policy, visit the Airbnb website.

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