Building on the success of the existing Neighbour Tool - which allows neighbours to submit complaints online about a listing - the launch of the Neighbour Support Line in New Zealand makes it even easier for people to contact Airbnb about any urgent issue relating to a nearby listing. With this update, neighbours can visit ​airbnb.co.nz/neighbors​ to request ​a call from a specialised support agent, who will aim to give them a call back in 10 minutes or less, providing an easy-to-access channel to flag concerns for our rapid response team.

Derek Nolan, Airbnb’s Head of Public Policy for New Zealand and Australia, said:​ “The safety and wellbeing of hosts, guests and the wider community is one of our top priorities and this new Neighbour Support Line will make it easier for people to bring issues concerning nearby listings to our attention so we can address them.

“While safety incidents are extremely rare on Airbnb, our team works diligently every day to make them even rarer.

“The Neighbour Support Line feature further bolsters our existing arsenal of tools to crack down on bad behaviour and help ensure everyone can enjoy the benefits of sustainable tourism. Measures such as this aim to give communities additional peace of mind and help make it easier for us to investigate potential issues if they occur.

“We continue to work collaboratively with police and government to help deliver improved outcomes for hosts, guests and the wider community.”

While emergencies and safety incidents should be reported to local authorities, the additional urgent communication channel launched today aims to address both immediate disturbances - such as an unauthorised party in progress - as well as possible long-term or recurring issues within the community.

This latest measure follows action ​recently taken​ by Airbnb against more than 300 listings across New Zealand. These listings were suspended or removed from the platform for violating Airbnb policies on parties and events or for having received multiple serious complaints.

Globally, between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020, only 0.086% of trips included a safety issue reported by a host or guest. However, on the extremely rare occasions where safety incidents do occur, Airbnb stands ready in those instances to assist eligible hosts with our ​Host Guarantee​ and ​Host Protection Insurance​.