Why your Italian Airbnb is about to cost more

Italy has finally made a move against Airbnb and come June of 2017, things are going to change.

It’s difficult to really get a fixed number to asses the impact Airbnb has had in Italy’s major tourist destinations, because Airbnb hasn’t been sharing it, but the city of Rome, just as an example, has about 4,000 legally registered guesthouses and vacation rental apartments, whereas a search on Airbnb shows well over 12,000 results.

Despite having unlocked lots of amazing, well priced places to stay, the illegality it has promoted matters, and here’s why:

- Italy has strict anti-terrorist laws that requires all accommodation owners to register their guests with the police.  So far this has helped police to track anyone, visitors and residents alike, who are staying somewhere other than their primary residence.  Accommodation providers that aren’t registered with the city, and thus illegal, have no way (and no reason) to register their guests, which undermines the efforts of law enforcement.

- Tourist tax.  Almost all major Italian cities now enforce a tourist tax, which is collected by the accommodation provider and then paid to the city.  Those that are illegal have no way (and again, no reason) to collect this, so a huge amount of money that’s needed for the upkeep and maintenance of cities that are heavily trafficked by tourists, goes unpaid.  Or worse, the accommodation providers collect the money from tourists, but then pocket it.

- Taxes.  Yes, no one likes to pay them.  But taxes do pay for the police, hospitals, firemen, and everything else that we hope is working well when we need it.

- Everything else under the table.  If you’re illegal, you can’t hire staff legally, can’t pay sales tax.  Essentially any services you hire out will be paid as an individual without the same contributions that businesses make that pays health insurance, unemployment, pensions – all the benefits that people rely on.

The new law and what it does:

- Packaged as a tax break, it gives the option to any private individual renting real estate for under 30 days to pay a flat 21% tax instead of the normal income tax that starts at 23% and goes up depending on one’s income.

- Obligates intermediaries, including on-line sites that collect payment from the guest, specifically Airbnb, to withhold the 21% and pay it directly to the tax authorities on behalf of the accommodation provider.

- Obligates the same intermediaries to report to the tax authorities all rentals taking place.

- Owners who don’t wish to pay the flat rate will have the amounts paid on their behalf put on credit toward whatever else they owe.

- This new law goes into effect as of June 2017.  The tax authority has 90 days to inform the public and other parties concerned how the reporting and payments will be done.

What we can expect:

Whatever the number of illegal properties are, those who are illegal cannot pay their taxes, either purposefully or because to do so would shed light on their own illegality.  Those people, as of June 2017, are going to see their takings drop 21%, which will surely force them to increase their prices, or to close down entirely for risk of getting fined for not having the proper authorisation.  Either way – we expect either the market will shrink, which will push prices up, or the market will remain the same size, but prices will increase to compensate.  Intermediates are also obligated to report (though it hasn’t been released how) all the details of each rental transaction.  This will mean the tax police will have detailed records of all Airbnb hosts, and those that are operating without authorisation will be easily identifiable.

Airbnb has been known to push back legally at legislation that can potentially hurt their revenues, so it’s possible that this law will be contested.  However, they’ve also recently made peace with San Francisco and NY, two of its biggest markets, by dropping lawsuits.

La Bottega del Tortellino – artisan pasta shop in Orvieto

I’m a big fan of making my own bread and pasta and think it’s worthwhile for everyone to learn – it’s easy, cheap, and for most people, what you can make at home is much better than anything you can buy from a store.

However, it’s another story when you live a 2 minute walk from a fresh pasta shop like La Bottega del Tortellino.

For years we’ve dutifully bought their ricotta and spinach ravioli at least once a week.  In a pinch, we’ll get a few portions of tortellini to serve in broth, or the potato and taleggio cheese ravioli which we’ll toss with butter and sage.  Yes, this is what we get to eat when we’re too lazy to cook – fresh pasta, usually made no more than a day ago.

The owners have a 10 year old daughter and I often see them at the elementary school.  Having chatted with them a few times, I understood that they had an unlikely story – having decided to change careers and become professional pasta makers.

The following video is about competing with big business, a changing food culture in Italy, and of course, pasta!

La Bottega del Tortellino – artisan pasta shop in Orvieto from Cross-Pollinate Travel on Vimeo.

Italy’s 2016 Referendum – what does it mean and what you need to know

Yesterday I voted for the first time in an Italian election as an Italian citizen.  I’d been researching the issue, and asking everyone I know for their opinions, for months, and the truth is, I can’t think of a worse issue to have as my first time.  Were this first time sex, it would be the equivalent of doing it in the backseat of a car with someone you don’t even really like – memorable, but disappointing.

However, I was quoted by a journalist friend about how I voted, and why, for The Guardian newspaper (which definitely didn’t happen after my first sexual encounter).

For those who haven’t yet recovered from the US elections and didn’t even begin to sort through what this was all about, I’ll give a very brief, Cliff-Notes version – basically just what you need to know so that you can have an opinion about it at a dinner party, and know what it might mean for the future of Italy, the future of the EU, and how that might effect anyone who wants to come here on vacation.

WHAT WAS THE REFERENDUM ABOUT?

The question asked to Italian citizens on the ballot was essentially (and forgive my terrible, literal translation):

Do you approve the constitutional law concerning the provision for exceeding the equal bicameralism, a reduction of the number of members of parliament, containment of costs of institutions, the suppression of the CNEL and the revision of Title V of the Second part of the Constitution?  Yes / No

In my own words, it was about reducing the size of the senate and changing their power so that laws would be quicker to pass and governments couldn’t be ousted as easily.  In addition, the Provinces would be abolished as well as an organization called CNEL, all of which would have saved taxpayers X amount of money.

Sounds good, right?  Smaller, cheaper, and more stable government is hard to turn down!

The first bit of messiness was that Renzi, the Prime Minister, originally said that if he couldn’t get these reforms to pass, he would step down as PM.  For many, that made a “No” vote the equivalent of “Out with Renzi”.  He then took back that statement, and in the back and forth, the issue became for many people, the equivalent of  a “Yes” vote meaning “Renzi stays”.

After Trump’s victory, the foreign press called this a potential ‘Third Act’ in the Brexit/Trump/Italexit saga.  Many also feared that Italy, looming on the brink of a serious banking crisis, would be in such a state of uncertainty were Renzi to step down, that the EU would be in turmoil if we delivered a “No” vote.  The foreign press also speculated further about how the only party that would come to power post-Renzi was the 5-Star movement, which has been on the record as being anti-EU (even though they’re also on the record for being pro-EU).

HERE’S SOME OTHER THINGS THAT THE ISSUE BECAME ABOUT:

- If Renzi steps down, that will leave a space that could only be filled by the 5-Star (antiestablishment) movement which could then lead to referendum on leaving the EU alla Brexit – which could be bad.  Or good!

- If Renzi steps down, that could force the President of the Republic to create a technocratic government to tide us over until the next elections in 2018 – which could be bad.  Or good.

- The far right sees a “No” vote as the same kind of “No” that the UK delivered and the same kind of “No” that the US voted (against Clinton and the establishment), which would then pave the way for more Salvini/Putin/Le Pen/Trump right wing extremists.  Which would certainly be bad.  Unless you’re into that, in which case it would be good.

So a vote on constitutional reform, involving the size and cost of the Senate, turned into a vote either for or against the PM, a vote for or against the EU, a vote for or against Populism and the Establishment (which, in this case, we don’t really know if it’s Renzi and his proposal or saying no to Renzi and his proposal).

WHAT WAS IT REALLY ABOUT?

Those who broke down the actual text of what was proposed (myself included) found the following issues of concern:

- The remaining senators would not be elected directly by the people. They would be appointed by other politicians.

- The remaining senators would also hold a second public office, so would have to divide their time between the two jobs, and incur higher costs in getting to/from Rome to complete their duties as senators therefore reducing the potential savings.

- The senators would have legal immunity, which could lead to all kinds of corruption (and just, why?).

- No salaries would be cut, therefore making the issue of saving money no longer at the center of the argument.

- The process by which a law becomes a law, instead of following the current, slow, yet single procedure, would follow 10-13 different procedures (the actual number not 100% agreed on) that, if disputed, would end up in the constitutional courts to be disputed to death, which means that there’s no guarantee that laws will be any easier to pass then they are now.

- That governments would be more stable, but also more powerful, and that could be good (if the government is good) or it could be REALLY bad (if the government is bad).

- For some reason they also threw in there that the number of signatures needed to bring a public vote forward would be much higher than it currently is, which just had no place getting squeezed into this.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Well, we know what happened.  Italy voted “No” about 60 to 40, and Renzi immediately stated he would turn in his resignation the following day.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Good question.  It’s doubtful we’ll hold early elections, so the President will have to form a government that will last from now until 2018.  In the meantime, that means nothing’s changed at all. The laws, and the process by which they become laws, has stayed the same.  Today, and tomorrow, Italy will have the same problems that it had yesterday and the day before.

For the tourist, this might mean that the Euro will fall against the dollar a bit, which could make your trip cheaper.  Otherwise, you can plan that Italy is going to be the same dichotomous, beautifully messy, chaotic and confusing place that it was and might always be.

But if you really want to understand Italy, just watch this oldie but goodie:

Virtual Reality Tour of Rome by LivItaly Tours

I was recently invited to go on a special tour of the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill with LivItaly Tours – special because they’ve added VR glasses/goggles so you can see computer generated recreations of the sites while in them.

We – my 10-year old daughter and I – met with a group of other bloggers at the nearby Caffé Propaganda in the Celio neighbourhood, just next to the Colosseum, where we had a drink and demo of our glasses.

They work with your smartphone through an app you download in advance.  Once at a site, you select it in the app, and it recognises your motion, so as you turn the view changes.

We started off at the Colosseum, talking about how it got its name and the colossal statue of Nero that was once next to it – and that thanks to the VR glasses, we could see again.

Being on a group tour means jumping the substantial line, which even in November was pretty long.

Now, I’ve been in the Colosseum many times, and have had a number of guided tours there too, but for my daughter, despite being born in Italy and living here, this was her first time.  She’s currently studying the Greeks in school, so this was an interesting way for her to connect the dots to the ancient world.  She was full of questions, and our guide, Rachel, was full of answers.  The glasses were appealing to my daughter not only because of the cool/fun factor, but because many of the monuments and ruins from the ancient world require a lot of imagination to see what they were really like, and visualising them with the glasses makes it come to life much easier.

Next we headed up the Palatine Hill, where the emperors had their palaces, and saw over the Circus Maximus, the world’s largest sports arena.

For the final part of the tour, we heading into the Roman Forum, once the downtown of the Roman Empire, and thus, kind of the center of the entire world.

The entire tour probably lasted between 3-4 hours, and we were engaged the entire time.

I’m a big fan of walking tours in general.  There’s a number of quality tour companies in Rome and in general they are all worthwhile – the more you’re able to invest, the more likely you’ll have a smaller group size and a more knowledgeable guide.  Visiting many of these sites on your own, without any additional information or guide, can be an underwhelming experience, so I do recommend doing a tour.

Having the VR glasses was a nice addition too, especially for kids, who can be hard to keep interested.  I also felt that our guide was great with kids too – she was happy to get questions and visibly pleased to be able to answer them in a way that kept more questions coming.

The price of their tours are slightly higher than other similar tours, due to the VR glasses, but you get to keep them afterward, and they work for other sites as well (and for other VR apps).  They also offer a guide that’s full of recommendations that go behind the sites – food, markets, shopping, etc.

For more information, check them out at:

LivItaly Tours 

Skype: livitaly.tours 
Vicolo del Divino Amore 18a, Rome

 

Where to store bags in Venice before or after check in/out?

by Toni DeBella

There are many upsides to booking a vacation rental property in Venice.  Some of these include budget-friendliness, convenience, room to spread out, and kitchens to prepare some of your own meals.

But what if you arrive in town way ahead of your check-in time (generally around 3pm) and/or there’s a space between the 11am check-out and your train or flight departure? With 3 hours to kill, what ever will you do with your bags?

Although a handful of properties may have reception areas or offices that will hold your bags, most are privately owned and don’t offer this service. You don’t really want to be sipping your Bellini in St. Mark’s Square – having to keep one eye on the beautiful architecture and the other on your Samsonite, do you?  It’s a myth that rolling bags are prohibited in Venice, however, dragging them up and down tiny footbridges all morning may not be your idea of fun.

Your worries are over…

Located in the historic center of Venice, a 4-minute stroll from both Piazza San Marco and the famed Rialto Bridge, Venice Luggage Deposit provides a solution to one of the most common travel dilemmas.

Called a deposito bagagli in Italian, Venice Luggage Deposit offers reasonably priced, per-day holding of your luggage, with discounts for multiple bags.  Special delivery service is available and they also accept oversize or unconventional items (i.e., surfboards) – but that costs a little bit more.  If you prefer, you can also make arrangements beforehand online, although no appointment is necessary – just drop ‘em and go!

You’re now ready to roam the winding streets and canals of Venice, hands free.

Venice Luggage Deposit
Castello 5496, Calle de la Malvasia
Email: info@veniceluggagedeposit.com
(+39) 041 476 4907; Cell (+39) 320 294 05 00
Hours: 9:30am to 5:30pm (holidays included)