Airbnb says it is cracking down on fake listings

Fake listings have emerged as a serious problem for Airbnb, threatening to discourage consumers and prompting the short-term rental company to make use of artificial intelligence to crack down on fraudsters.

Airbnb says it has removed 59,000 fake listings this 12 months and prevented one other 157,000 from joining the platform.

Fake listings and high cleansing fees are only a number of the problems Airbnb identified on Wednesday and highlighted by its users in an organization survey. Others included high cleansing fees and a desire for lower prices.

The San Francisco-based company said greater than 260,000 offers reduced or waived cleansing fees this 12 months because it allowed consumers to sort offers by total price.

Airbnb says changing the way in which it displays prices discourages hosts from promoting low prices and charging extra fees. However, only a few third of Airbnb renters use it.

“We have received a lot of feedback that Airbnb is not as affordable as it once was,” CEO Brian Chesky said in an interview. Price changes are beginning to take effect, he said, and more motion is underway.

One is “seasonal dynamic pricing,” a technology that might help hosts adjust prices more continuously, as airlines and hotels do. Chesky said this is able to prompt hosts to lower prices in the course of the off-season, but could also help them raise prices during peak times.

Airbnb also said it will begin vetting all listings in its five largest markets, including the United States and the United Kingdom, later this 12 months to combat the counterfeit epidemic.

Fake listings lead to refunds and rebooking costs for Airbnb, “but the biggest risk is to our reputation,” Chesky said. “If when you book an Airbnb you can’t be sure that the place is real and that you will like it, then you will stay in a hotel.”

The company plans to make use of artificial intelligence to confirm entries within the five largest countries.

It will ask hosts to enter the property and open the Airbnb app. GPS will confirm that they’re at the right address, and artificial intelligence will probably be used to match live photos with the photos the host uses within the ad.

Properties within the US, UK, Canada, France and Australia that pass the test will display a “verified” icon of their listings from February. The company said it will confirm listings in 30 more countries by the top of next 12 months.