Technologies

Ahead of Super Bowl 2023, Vrbo Fights Back Against Party House Bookings

Aribnb has a similar anti-party house policy in place.

With Super Bowl LVII set to take place on Feb. 12, vacation rental company Vrbo is implementing new technology that prevents renters from turning homes into party houses, the company said on Monday.

Vrbo said it’s been pilot testing technology in Phoenix that identifies and prevents bookings that would be used for house parties. So far, the Expedia-owned company said it prevented 500 «unauthorized event bookings» from taking place, saving hosts $2.5 million in party-related damages.

«Even though disruptive party houses are rare on Vrbo, addressing them is still a priority,» said Philip Minardi, director of public affairs at Expedia Group, in a press release. «By deploying this new solution and working closely with local hosts, Vrbo is preventing problematic behavior before it starts.»

Vrbo didn’t immediately respond to a request for additional comment.

The technology works by generating a «risk score» for each booking based on length of stay, lead time before a stay begins and the number of guests. It also looks at hosts and the number of beds and other amenities they may be providing. If Vrbo sees the booking to be high-risk, it informs the host and suggests they cancel the booking, free of charge. Potential guests are then emailed Vrbo’s policies around disruptive gatherings.

Vrbo said that guest demographics aren’t considered and that it doesn’t share personally identifiable information.

As online homestay rental companies, such as Airbnb, have increased in popularity, so too have stories of people booking houses to throw large parties. Vrbo, like Airbnb, lets home owners rent out their properties for short periods of time. Following a 2019 Halloween party shooting in California that left five people dead, Airbnb said it was taking actions to prevent house parties. By late 2022, it had launched its own anti-party technology in the US, Canada and Australia and said it plans on expanding the tech worldwide by this spring.

Short-term homestay rentals are big business. When Airbnb went public, it reached a valuation of $100 billion, although that figure has since fallen.

Vrbo partnered with Airbnb in 2021 to develop a community integrity program that shares important information about problematic listings and prevents repeat party house offenders. The company also said it has a zero-tolerance policy for party houses and will ban both hosts and guests who knowingly turn a home into a party house.

Super Bowl LVII will see the Kansas City Chiefs face the Philadelphia Eagles at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Technologies

New AT&T Elite 2.0 Phone Plan Boosts Wireless Hotspot and Data Performance

For customers willing to pay for it, the new top plan offers more high-speed data and performance than the former one.

Only a few weeks after overhauling its unlimited phone plans, AT&T has added a new plan to the top of the lineup that offers more data and performance — for a higher price. The AT&T Elite 2.0 plan is available now.

For a single line, Elite 2.0 costs $110 (plus taxes and fees). As more lines are added, the per-line price goes down. AT&T customers can mix and match plans on an account, but if we assume everyone is signing up for the Elite 2.0 plan, the costs break down like this:

• One line: $110
• Two lines: $100 per line, $200 total
• Three lines: $85 per line, $255 total
• Four lines: $75 per line, $300 total
• Five lines: $75 per line, $375 total

To compare it with AT&T’s next-priciest option, the Premium 2.0 plan costs $90 for a single line, or $55 per line on an account with four lines.

What’s included in the AT&T Elite 2.0 plan

For those amounts, the plan includes unlimited high-speed 5G data, prioritized even during network congestion, just like the Premium 2.0 plan, and 250GB of hotspot data (up from 100GB for the other plan). It also includes cellular access for one smartwatch and one tablet per line.

For travelers, Elite 2.0 has unlimited international talk, text and 20GB of high-speed data per month in 210 countries. The Premium 2.0 plan has unlimited talk, text and high-speed data, but only for 20 Latin American countries.

Aside from the data amounts, the Elite 2.0 plan includes AT&T Turbo, a feature normally offered as an add-on that increases data performance for video calling, gaming and streaming on 5G-capable devices. For other plans, AT&T Turbo costs $7 per line per month.

(AT&T Turbo is a separate feature from AT&T Turbo Live, which is designed to boost performance in certain crowded venues such as concerts or sporting events.)

AT&T Elite 2.0 vs Premium 2.0

	Price for 1 line, per month	Price for 4 lines, per month	High-speed data	Mobile hotspot	International Call/Data	AT&T Turbo
AT&T Premium 2.0	$90	$220 ($55 per line)	Unlimited	100GB	Unlimited talk, text and high-speed data in 20 Latin American countries; unlimited texting from US to 200+ countries	Not included
AT&T Elite 2.0	$110	$300 ($75 per line)	Unlimited	250GB	Unlimited talk, text and 20GB high-speed data in 210 countries	Included

Technologies

Stuck in a Coffee Rut? ChatGPT Can Now Plan Your Next Starbucks Order

Don’t be surprised if the chatbot suggests mixing espresso with lemonade.

If you like getting your daily cup of coffee from Starbucks, you’ll now be able to consult with ChatGPT for your next beverage. Starbucks said on Wednesday that a new Starbucks app in ChatGPT, now in beta, will help you figure out your next order based on your mood or craving in the moment.

Although you won’t be able to order your Starbucks coffee directly through the ChatGPT app, it will suggest drinks and menu items you may enjoy, then direct you to the Starbucks app or website to complete your order.

OpenAI has added a host of other apps you can interact with in ChatGPT since announcing the functionality last year. You can do everything from browsing home listings to designing playlists without leaving the chatbot interface.

You’ll be able to use prompts like, «@Starbucks, I want something bright to start my morning,» or upload an image to describe your mood and location. Once the menu suggestion appears in ChatGPT, you can start the order through the chatbot and then complete it in the Starbucks app or online.

Paul Riedel, senior vice president of digital and loyalty at Starbucks, said in a statement that Starbucks noticed customers weren’t always starting off by looking at the menu. «They’re starting with a feeling,» he said. «We wanted to meet customers right in that moment of inspiration and make it easier than ever to find a drink that fits.»

Starbucks said interacting with ChatGPT lets you personalize your order more and discover menu options you never considered before.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

When I tried out the new feature, I asked it about the oddest beverage combinations you can get at Starbucks. One interesting combo ChatGPT came up with was espresso with lemonade. The AI described another drink as «basically liquid dessert soup,» if that’s more up your alley.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 16, #570

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 16 No. 570.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a fun one, especially if you enjoy unusual team names. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Put your glasses on for this.

Green group hint: Hoops home.

Blue group hint: The minors.

Purple group hint: Hidden hoops word.