Tourists checking into holiday rentals in Italy must now be met by their hosts following a ban on self-check-in key boxes across the country.
The Italian Interior Ministry said the decree was a security measure for hosts to verify the identities of guests in person rather than providing remote instructions to access rental accommodation using key codes.
Property owners using host platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com often leave instructions for travellers to check themselves in and pick up keys by using the safes that have recently become symbolic of overtourism in Italian cities.
Vittorio Pisani, the national head of police, said the order was issued in light of the “intensification of the phenomenon of so-called ‘short-term rentals’” as well as “the numerous political, cultural and religious events being planned”.
Rome’s next Jubilee Year will be celebrated in 2025, and the city expects to welcome 35 million pilgrims and tourists to embark on a journey in the Italian capital.
Mr Pisani added that the measure aims to prevent “safety risks in relation to the possible accommodation of dangerous individuals or those linked to criminal or terrorist organisations”.
Daniela Santanchè, minister of tourism, said: “I greatly appreciate the initiative of the Ministry of the Interior and I underline the full and fruitful collaboration with Minister Piantedosi. The new circular from the Ministry of the Interior on the identification of guests in accommodation facilities, in fact, is an essential step to prevent risks and guarantee a serene and positive tourist experience, both for visitors and operators.”
Guests’ personal details and identity documents must also be sent to police authorities by property owners within 24 hours of check-in.
Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri said that the ban is “good news for everyone” that means “more effective controls on access”, report Euronews.
He added that “suitable intervention methods” will be introduced to remove wall safes following the ban.
The crackdown follows protests in Rome at short-term rental properties by anonymous activists in the name of Robin Hood.
Holidaymakers checking into homes in the Italian capital arrived to find key safes hacked off the wall with a protest note and the green felt hat of the famed outlaw in their place in…
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