Florence authorities have ordered the removal of self check-in keyboxes from holiday rental properties by 25 February, as part of efforts to tackle over-tourism in the city.
Rental platforms like Airbnb increasingly rely on keyboxes to allow guests to check in without meeting property owners in person. However, critics argue that the boxes are unsightly and pose security risks by eliminating face-to-face verification.
Florence Mayor Sara Funaro announced a ten-point plan to tackle overtourism in the city in November last year. This week, she said inspections would begin next week to enforce the ban. “We will check where keyboxes remain and then remove them,” she told a local television station on Wednesday. Non-compliant owners face fines of up to €400.
Other Italian tourist hotspots, including Rome and Venice, have also introduced measures to control visitor numbers, following complaints about a lack of affordable housing and concerns from hoteliers over competition from short-term rentals.
The national government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has already imposed a rule requiring visual guest identification at check-in.
Massimo Torelli, spokesperson for the Let’s Save Florence to Live in It campaign, said the group had been marking self check-in keyboxes with red crosses in protest. “They are everywhere – on bicycle racks, on streetlight poles. Florence is dying of uncontrolled tourism,” he said.
Torelli welcomed the city’s action and expressed hope that the number of short-term rental apartments would drop from the current 15,000 to around 7,000–8,000, freeing up housing for local residents.
