Change in short-term accommodation rental rules for tourists in Italy

Renting accommodation on a holiday trip without meeting the owner and checking in yourself is increasingly common these days. Special key boxes can be found in tourist towns, and tourists can even check into their rented accommodation in the middle of the night without contacting the owner. It also happens that remote check-in consists of receiving precise ‘where to go and what to do’ instructions from the owner to find the keys and do the check-in themselves. As convenient as this solution may be, you won't see this again in Italy - on pain of a fine.
 

Rules on Airbnb-type portals in Italy with major changes. No more self-registration
 

The Italian government has introduced new rules for short-term accommodation rentals. All key boxes for self-check-in are to disappear and new ones will not be allowed to be installed. Remote check-in will no longer be possible, with the owner having to hand over the keys to the accommodation to tourists under threat of a fine for remotely checking in visitors. Furthermore, accommodation landlords will no longer be able to check in tourists remotely using scans of ID cards or passports, and each visitor will have to be registered in person by the owner at the local police station.
 

Source: CNN