Another Italian city is cracking down on the number of tourists by removing key boxes often used to allow holidaymakers to self check-in to short-term rental properties
Another Italian hotspot is due to bring in more rules to crack down on overtourism.
The city of Florence is setting to tackle short-term holiday lets in an attempt prevent overtourism by ordering the removal of self check-in key boxes by February 25.
The announcement comes after key boxes have been increasingly used in the city and made popular by platforms such as Airbnb, to allow guest to enter properties without the need for meeting an owner or host.
City officials have argued that the new measure to remove the boxes will help to better manage the influx of tourists and maintain a more equal balance between tourists and residents.
The key boxes have received criticism in recent months, due to their unsightliness and the potential security risks of guests and hosts not meeting each other face-to-face.
“Next week we will go … to check where the ban on key boxes is not respected, and then we will remove them,” Florence Mayor Sara Funaro told a local television channel on Wednesday, reports The Independent.
Fines of up to £400 (£331.09) will be imposed on non-compliant owners, according to the city council’s decision.
Other Italian hotspots, including Rome and Venice, have also taken steps to reduce tourist numbers as many locals have protested against the lack of affordable accommodation and hoteliers have commented that holiday lets are impacting their business.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Government has already issued a nationwide rule prohibiting check-ins without visual guest identification. Massimo Torelli, spokesperson for the “Let’s save Florence to live in it” campaign, stated that the group had been marking check-in boxes with a red cross.
They are “everywhere, on the bicycle racks and on the street-light poles … Florence is dying of uncontrolled tourism,” he said.
Mr Torelli added that he was pleased that city hall was finally taking action. In addition, he hopes the number of apartments dedicated to short-stay will drop from 15,000 to between 7,000 and 8,000, freeing up more property for local residents.
Last year, Florence announced a ban on new short-term private rentals in the centre of the city. There has also been repeated pushes for special regulation from the National Government to cap the number of days a property can be rented out for at 120.
Mayor Sara Funaro’s Cabinet approved a 10-point plan that in addition to the removal of key boxes, will see a ban on golf carts and loudspeakers for tourism purposes. The plan also includes a requirement to display the holiday rental ID outside properties.
The ten-point plan followed several attempts by the council to reinstate a 2023 bylaw, which would prohibit the short-term rental of residential real estate, for tourism purposes.
