Skift Take

Verifying listings has not been a top priority for Airbnb over the years. But trying to root out fake listings through verification measures is high on the agenda for 2024. The effort would leak into 2025 at a minimum.

Dennis Schaal

Airbnb has a fake listings and verification problem — and the company knows it.

While Airbnb has verified many hosts in recent years, that doesn't always mean its listings accurately represent the property the guest is trying to book.

Airbnb said in September that in late 2023 it would begin to verify every listing in its top five countries, namely the U.S., Canada, Australia, the UK, and France. Verified listings, backed by such things as exterior and interior photos that match the listing or videos with the host onsite, would appear with an icon starting in February 2024.

Airbnb removed around 59,000 fake listings in 2023, and blocked another 157,000 from ever appearing on the platform, the company said.

New York City Lawsuit Against Airbnb and a Tenant

The issue came to the fore in an ongoing New York court case, where a landlord sued Airbnb and a tenant for allegedly renting an apartment to guests as a short-term rental even though the building was registered with New York City as one that prohibits such use.

Airbnb acknowledges that it published two listings from a verified host, "Sarah." As shown in court filings, one was for 27 Columbus Circle (seen immediately below), which the city's Office of Special Enforcement confirmed was exempt from the Local Law 18 registration requirements.

However, Airbnb also published a second listing (see below) from "Sarah" with identical photos to the first listing, but it was for another address: 207 Columbus Drive, 10 blocks from Columbus C