It’s one of the most visited holiday destinations in the world but now Italian authorities are clamping down on the explosion of vacation properties advertised online with travel apps by banning key boxes.
The Mediterranean nation welcomes almost the same number of tourists each year as the country’s own population, but the sheer number coming in is putting pressure on local communities.
In Rome, protesters gathered outside the offices of Confedilizia, the Italian Confederation of Building Ownership, on Tuesday (December 3) to demand a stop to what they see is overtourism taking over homes that could be used by permanent residents.
Across several cities, including the capital and Florence and Milan, a large number of lock boxes used outside properties advertised on sites like Airbnb and Booking were vandalised.
Key boxes mean tourists can enter the holiday lets without having to meet the owner in person, with guests simply being given the code to get the entry tools online when they book a property.
But now, according to Euronews, the Italian government has brought in a ban on the self-check-in system citing “public order and safety risks”.
The Italian Interior Ministry said the ban, which came into force on November 18, will “prevent public order and safety risks in relation to the possible accommodation of dangerous individuals or those linked to criminal or terrorist organisations”.
The statement added “the automated management of check-in and entry to a property without visual identification of guests” means there is a risk it “could be occupied by one or more individuals whose identities remain unknown to the relevant police authorities posing a potential danger to the community”.
Under the new rules tourists can no longer independently check in to holiday lets and must be met by the rental owners or managers who will verify identity documents.
The rental owner must also send details and identity documents of the travellers staying at the property to the police 24 hours before the guests arrive.
The Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gaultieri, called the ban “good news for everyone” and said it would mark the end of “the padlocks and boxes that disfigure our streets and prevent adequate security checks”.
