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Rome VRBO rental

Posted by (Wheaton) on

Hi. I just booked a stay in Rome for 4 nights using VRBO. I got a message from the renter that upon arrival she needs a copy or take a picture of each person's passport and that this is required by the law?
This is my first time traveling you Italy and wanted to ask you if you had to do this and this is normal practice.
Here's what she wrote:

IMPORTANT : when you arrive at check-in you are kindly asked to provide details of the documents of each guest staying in the apartment because the Italian law states that we have to transmit them to the police. We have to see the original.
If you want at the arrival you can provide a photocopy of the passports (or identity cards) otherwise we can take a picture of your documents with the cell phone.

Thanks for your help forum!
Nam Mee Lee

Posted by
299 posts

Yes, it's normal and as the renter said, it's the law.

Posted by
60 posts

Thank you! I totally respect that, just my first time in Italy!

Posted by
16687 posts

Another recent thread on the same topic:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/they-want-copies-of-passports

Someone on that thread noted collection of the per-night city tax - usually in cash - on the day of checkin? You'll have to read the fine print of your rental but this is also something that is routine in much of Italy. The amount is per person (young children are usually free), varies per city and star rating of accommodation, and applies up to a set # of nights. So, if your host asks for this amount, it's nothing shady but a fee we've had to pay at hotels as well. I guess it's a tax they have to manage separately from the per-night tariffs.

Posted by
7737 posts

Yep, perfectly normal. (Before the days of smartphone cameras, it used to freak some people out to be asked to leave their passports overnight at the hotel's front desk.)

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