San Francisco, California - Airbnb has activated artificial intelligence-powered tools to help spot and block unauthorized and disruptive New Year’s Eve parties being organized via the platform.

The property booking platform said it had introduced measures which use machine learning to identify and block potentially higher-risk bookings of entire home listings from being made.

The technology looks at signals such as the length of the trip, type of listing, distance from a guest’s location, and when the reservation is being made to help determine whether it could be a higher risk.

If flagged as higher risk, guests are either blocked from booking, or redirected to alternative accommodations on the platform.

The company started using the restrictions in 2020, and says that since then, it has seen a significant drop in the rate of parties reported to the firm.

Airbnb said that last year alone nearly 74,000 people were blocked from making a booking.

Amanda Cupples, Airbnb general manager for the UK and northern Europe, said: "While issues are rare, we want to do our part to help reduce the risk of unauthorized and disruptive parties."

"Airbnb is committed to supporting hosts and the communities they live in, and we hope these defenses allow guests, hosts and neighbors to celebrate the holiday with added reassurance."

The firm said the measures would be in effect in the run-up to and over New Year in countries and regions around the world, with restrictions in place on one to three-night reservations.

In addition, guests who make reservations will be required to confirm that they understand unauthorized and disruptive parties are not allowed on Airbnb, and face suspension from the platform if this policy is found to have been breached.