Tourists in Italy will no longer be able to access short-term rentals using key boxes after the country’s police chief said owners must verify the visitors’ identity in person.
The move was brought as a security measure and follows a similar move in Florence.
The growing popularity of short-term rentals in recent years has been accompanied by the widespread use of lockboxes and other methods to allow guests to remotely check in and access properties without having to meet hosts.
For some, the boxes have become symbols of overtourism and have also sparked complaints about their visual impact.
Police chief Vittorio Pisani told reporters that there is a need to “use strong measures” aimed at preventing the risk of “dangerous people living and/or people connected to criminals or terrorist organizations”.
In a circle to local regions, he said that “at a critical moment in history at the international level” his office “confirms the responsibility imposed on the management of accommodation of any kind or form to ensure the identity of visitors from a visual point of view. check”.
Pisani said the order was issued due to the “proliferation of what is called ‘temporary employment'” and “a number of political, cultural and religious events being planned, including the 2025 Jubilee celebrations of the Catholic Church.”
The Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri yesterday welcomed the order, which first came from the Ministry of the Interior, saying it would mean “effective control of access, and the first brake on unfair competition”.
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