Airbnb has blocked tens of thousands of partiers in COVID crackdown

Airbnb has blocked or redirected “potentially risky reservation attempts” from over 50,000 people across 15 US cities as part of a crackdown on parties in its properties during the pandemic. These include 7,000 in Dallas, 6,000 in San Diego, 5,100 in Charlotte, 3,500 in St. Louis, 3,000 in Columbus, and 2,700 in New Orleans, the company’s head of trust and safety communication Ben Breit tells The Verge.

The Denver Post reports that it’s blocked 5,000 people from making bookings in Phoenix, 4,500 in Las Vegas, 4,500 in Seattle, 2,600 in Denver, 2,600 in Portland, 1,800 in Salt Lake City, and 1,500 in Albuquerque. “In the past year, this technology has blocked or redirected potentially risky reservation attempts from more than 2,000 people...

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