By authenticating every listing in its top five markets—the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and France—Airbnb is attempting to combat fraudulent listings. Through this scheme, the firm is attempting to combat fraudulent listings by requesting information from hosts, such as photographs with GPS coordinates.
The corporation announced that it will start the verification process in the initial batch of nations later this year and extend the program to 30 additional nations by the fall of the following year.
The CEO of the firm, Brian Chesky, stated that verified symbols will begin to be displayed next to the listing in February.
The problem of displaying properties that don’t exist, have inaccurate information, or are owned by someone other than the host mentioned is something that Airbnb is attempting to address.
After five people died during a Halloween party held at an Airbnb apartment in 2019, the firm started cracking down on gatherings. Additionally, it started to check the accuracy of all of its listings. The company is currently expanding its verification program by requesting more information from hosts.
For listing verification, Airbnb stated it combines “AI and human review” with its anti-fraud technology. The Airbnb app will require hosts who are listing a new property to supply GPS-tagged photos of the property. The business will use reviews, booking history information, and details supplied by the host when evaluating already-published listings. In every situation, hosts should have access to and list properties in a precise place.
While the corporation did not give a timeframe, it did state that hosts of already-existing properties will have “sufficient time” to prepare. However, if hosts don’t provide information, Airbnb may take action, such as limiting their accounts. The vacation agency didn’t say whether it intended to delete unconfirmed properties later on.
Airbnb claims that it checks for Host reputation, template text, duplicate photographs, and other irregularities in cases where a real location is listed but belongs to someone other than the host.
Fake content has “no place” on Airbnb’s platform, the company stressed. It will be interesting to watch how the business responds to a listing where the host has designated a caretaker to oversee it. According to the business, this year, it prevented 157,000 phony listeners from using the site and erased 59,000 fraudulent listings.
Earlier this month, updated regulations about short-term rentals took effect in New York City, mandating that hosts register with the city and be physically present during rentals lasting fewer than 30 days. According to Skift, a travel website, there has been a substantial 77% reduction in the number of Airbnb listings in NYC over the past few months. If registration data will be used for listing verification, Airbnb didn’t say.
