VRMA Administrator
Airbnb is using artificial intelligence (AI)to crack down on fraudulent listings. The company says it has removed 59,000 fake listings and prevented another 157,000 from joining the platform this year. Fake listings and high cleaning fees are among several issues that Airbnb said Wednesday that its users highlighted in a company survey. Others included high cleaning fees and a desire for lower prices. The San Francisco company said more than 260,000 listings have lowered or removed cleaning fees this year, since it gave consumers the means to sort listings in order of all-in pricing. “We got a lot of feedback that Airbnb is not as affordable as it used to be,” CEO Brian Chesky said in an interview. The pricing changes are starting work, he said, and more measures are in the works. One of those changes is seasonal dynamic pricing, which Chesky said would prod hosts into cutting prices during the off-season and raise prices during peak times. Airbnb also said that later this year it will begin verifying all listings in its top five markets including the United States and the United Kingdom to combat an outbreak of fakes.
Associated Press (09/20/23) David Koenig
