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Italy: The Italian interior ministry has announced a ban on key lock boxes across the country in order to “prevent public order and safety risks”, meaning that guests staying in short-term / holiday rentals will no longer be able to do a self check-in.
The ban comes in with immediate effect and will apply to all forms of short-term rentals. As a result, guests will now need to check in in person with the property owner or manager, as opposed to remote check-in procedures.
In a statement, the interior ministry said that the ban was designed to “prevent public order and safety risks in relation to the possible accommodation of dangerous individuals or those linked to criminal or terrorist organisations”.
Attributing the importance of strengthened security measures to the “intensification of the phenomenon of short-term rentals”, the statement continued: “The automated management of check-in procedures without in-person identification of guests means that properties could be occupied by one or more individuals whose identities remain unknown to the relevant police authorities.”
The news has been welcomed by Italy’s tourism minister Daniela Santanchè and Rome’s mayor Roberto Gaultieri who said that it was “an essential step to prevent risks and guarantee a peaceful and positive tourist experience” and “good news for everyone” respectively.
Meanwhile, a statement released by property manager association AIGAB – Associazione Italiana Gestori Affitti Brevi – read: “As AIGAB, we believe that lockers on the streets should be eliminated and we welcome any control against forms of illegality harmful to the entire category. However, we believe that the Ministry of the Interior is not aware of the fact that the software used by many professional managers has been designed on guest recognition technologies with biometric tracking and OTP codes similar to the SPID [Public Digital Identity System], with access to car rentals and bank accounts.
“We do not believe that the government wants to put an end to the sharing economy in Italy, but introducing physical recognition only for short-term rentals would be discriminatory,” it added.
The measures were prompted by recent protests in cities across Italy [including Rome, Florence and Milan] about the proliferation of short-term rentals leading to ‘over-tourism’ and perceived ‘hit-and-run tourism’. Similar protests, which have also involved the sabotaging of key lock boxes, have also been seen in Spain and France in recent months.
As of September, it is now mandatory in Italy for property owners and managers to hold a national identification code and display it on their listings as part of the national government’s crackdown on illegal short-term rental operations.
