Airbnb claims to have collected a list of New Zealand's most hospitable small towns. Photo / Unsplash, Kerin Gedge
Airbnb claims to have collected a list of New Zealand's most hospitable small towns. Photo / Unsplash, Kerin Gedge
The local “Stonehenge” attraction may look like a throwback to the Neolithic era, but this small Wairarapa spot has been named New Zealand’s most hospitable town.
Airbnb has released a list of the towns and areas of regional Aotearoa with the highest density of 5-star reviews.
Carterton, south of Masterton on State Highway 2, was a standout in the category.
Despite its relatively diminutive size, the Wellington region fits an impressive 41 B&Bs in the website listings.
However, the kings of small-town hospitality are found in rural Waikato with the region taking four of the top 10 spots, with Waipa and Matamata among the placegetters.
Selwyn and Arthur’s Pass were the only South Island areas to feature on the list of most hospitable rural regions, taking spots 6 and 10 respectively.
As it prepares to revamp the website’s review process, Airbnb has released the list as a snapshot of the 370 million ratings left by visitors worldwide over the past two decades.
Matamata has been named by Airbnb as one of the country's most-welcoming rural regions.
Today, the platform that lists more than 7 million rooms worldwide says it is relaunching the website with a renewed focus on making sure expectations match reality.
“Too often, it doesn’t,” said Airbnb chief executive officer Brian Chesky.
The website co-founder said from today the new features will help houses live up to their listings and guests can ”now know exactly what to expect every time you book”.
A new feature called “Guest Favourites” filters searches for only trusted listings with a rating of 4.9 and above.
New Zealand’s most hospitable towns, cities and regions:
Carterton, Wellington
South Taranaki, Taranaki Region
Waipa, Waikato Region
South Waikato, Waikato Region
Matamata-Piako, Waikato Region
Selwyn, Canterbury
Rangitikei, Manawatu-Whanganui
Hauraki, Waikato Region
Hastings, Hawke’s Bay Region
Waimakariri, Canterbury
Big tech tests
There were some other announcements by the tech company, which were slightly more out there.
Chesky said the website will now allow for “smart lock integration”, allowing hosts to share and change key codes for every booking.
Another high-tech feature is the photo tour, which will help hosts sort pictures and guests find what they’re looking for more quickly.
The company’s ventures into artificial intelligence (AI) have not always been successful.
Last week an Australian woman raised concerns about the website’s current use of AI after the its photo-check feature refused to verify her identity.
Francesca Dias appeared on ABC’s Q+A saying the photo ID recognition refused to accept an image of her. When asking the panel of experts, it was suggested Airbnb’s algorithm could have been prejudiced against her due to a lack of exposure to users with darker complexions or of South Asian heritage.
Eventually, she had to turn to her fair-skinned partner, who was able to use the app with ease.
“I couldn’t activate an Airbnb account basically because the facial recognition software couldn’t match two photographs or photo ID of me and so I ended up having my white, male partner make the booking for me,” she said.
AirBnB country manager for New Zealand and Australia, Susan Wheeldon, said she was “disappointed to hear about the guest’s experience,” but on review the technical issue that refused Dias bookings was not to do with AI.
“The verification process for this guest’s ID did not include the use of any facial recognition technology. In this case, an expired government ID was uploaded.”
