Since June, Airbnb has taken on the role of killjoy by banning parties in its accommodations. When you rent your apartment or your house via Airbnb, it is difficult to ensure that the temporary tenants will respect the neighbors. While this is fairly rare and travelers are generally respectful, sometimes this is not the case. In addition to creating noise pollution, hosting parties in Airbnb rentals can go wrong, as was the case in 2019 in California. A party of 100 people had turned tragic, and caused the death of 5 people.
To avoid this bad publicity, and to respect the sleep of your neighbors, Airbnb has chosen to ban parties and is rolling out new “anti-party” technology. To go further in this fight against partygoers, Airbnb will now be able to alert owners if tenants are making too much noise.
“Less noise, please”
Being able to rent out your accommodation on Airbnb is good. But it is difficult to know which tenants we will fall on. Although problems are quite rare and the platform has instituted an “anti-party” policy, some troublemakers persist and continue to want to organize illegal parties. To complement the special technology to spot reservations that are likely to escalate, Airbnb is collaborating with Minut. This manufacturer of connected noise detectors wants everyone to be a good neighbour, even on vacation or at the weekend.
By partnering with Minut, Airbnb seeks to anticipate any noise pollution. Thus, in 60 countries and regions of the world, the platform offers hosts the opportunity to equip themselves with a box for free. The manufacturer of connected noise detectors then offers three months of subscription to interested people. For operation, it is quite simple. The box is able to detect sounds and when a certain threshold of decibels is exceeded, it sends an alert to the owner’s smartphone. Airbnb also receives an alert in an effort to speed things up. Airbnb tested this novelty in Prague during a pilot project and the verdict is final. In the event of a sound overflow, a solution was found within 20 minutes for each alert.
However, we see you coming: what about privacy? Airbnb reassures: hosts must be transparent and indicate the presence of the box in the description of the ad. The latter is also prohibited in bedrooms and other rest areas. A little privacy, all the same. However, note that these boxes do not record and transmit the conversations and other sounds they pick up. They simply signal to owners that the set decibel threshold has been exceeded.
This box, coupled with Airbnb’s already effective “anti-party” technology, should complete the end to painful evenings for the ears of neighbors. To see if hosts and tenants will take to the game with this connected noise detector. Since August 2020, reporting of parties in France on Airbnb has been reduced by 40%.
