NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Fake listings have emerged as a major problem for AirBnB and the short-term rental service is now using AI to crack down on fraudsters.
Airbnb officials said this year they've blocked 157,000 fake listings from joining the platform and removed another 59,000 that slipped through the cracks.
Fake listings are one of the top issues customers are having to deal with, according to a new company survey.
Moving forward to avoid this, AirBnB will have hosts go inside the property and open the Airbnb app. GPS will verify they are at the correct address, and A-I will be used to compare live photos with pictures that the host uses on the listing.
Once it passes, a “verified” icon will be shown on listings starting in February.
The survey also heard about other complaints, which included high cleaning fees. Those will be tackled by changing the way prices are displayed for users.
"We started really going deep on people's complaints. We went on social media, we created a blueprint in the entire experience and we made 53 upgrades based on the experience," said CEO Biran Chesky. "Then I went on Twitter. I said, tell me what else we can fix about Airbnb. I got 3000 responses. The top eight suggestions, we've knocked down five of them."
