Protests against Airbnb have spread to Milan, with angry locals destroying key boxes used in rental properties.
Activists in Milan have accused Airbnb of raising rents and driving locals out of the city’s tourist hotspots. Its slogan “This city is not a hotel” has already garnered hundreds of likes on social media.
In the latest protest by the Chiediamo Casa group, locals placed stickers reading “Fewer short rentals, more houses for everyone” on key safes, which allow tourists to access their rented accommodation, outside Airbnbs during the weekend of week.
“Let’s limit tourist rentals, let’s protest against those who want to drive us out of the city with unsustainable rentals of inaccessible houses,” activists wrote in a call to action in early November.
“We want a city for everyone and the right to live in decent housing,” their statement said.
Residents of Milan and Florence have launched a protest against Airbnb by placing stickers on the key boxes that allow tourists to access their rented accommodation.
In the latest protest by the Chiediamo Casa group, locals placed stickers reading “Fewer short rentals, more houses for everyone” on key safes, which allow tourists to access their rented accommodation, outside Airbnbs during the weekend of week.
Its slogan ‘This city is not a hotel’ has already attracted attention on social media.
“We really wish the tourists the best, but we want them to stay in hotels,” activist Giacomo Negri told the Times.
He added that the key boxes were a symbol that short-term lets had changed from residents renting out their spare room to companies managing multiple apartments.
In Florence, where almost a third of the city’s apartments are listed on Airbnb, protesters used stickers with the slogan “Save Florence so we can live in it” last weekend.
This comes just weeks after Italian anti-tourism protesters attacked key safes outside holiday properties in a bid to deter visitors who they say are driving them out of local homes.
Activists calling themselves ‘Robin Hood’ have removed several safes from properties in Rome, denying travelers access to their holiday rentals.
Letters were posted under felt Robin Hood hats on the city’s lampposts, describing the vandalism as “the first” attack on “the rich.”
‘If you are looking for key safes and can’t find them, read this. We are rebelling,’ said a note shared by local media.
“We have removed these key storage boxes to denounce the sale of the city to short-term holidays that alienate locals and leave residents on the streets.”
There has been a fierce backlash against tourists in Mediterranean hotspots this summer, with locals denouncing what they see as lax regulation on tourist accommodation that has made it difficult to find affordable housing.
The rise of rental companies such as Airbnb has caused some owners to stop renting to residents and instead rent rooms or apartments to short-term visitors.
This reduces the overall supply of housing, which raises the cost of rent.
Robin Hood hats were placed on Rome lampposts with a letter lamenting tourism
Locked boxes, like the one pictured, were torn from the exterior walls of vacation properties.
Campaigners said rents had risen “exponentially” in recent years. “This is only our first action against the Holy Year of the rich,” his letters said.
More than 35 million tourists visited Rome last year, making it a record year and an all-time high in attendance.
The previous year, as Rome recovered from the pandemic, some 15 million arrived, and 30 million overnight stays increased by 176 percent compared to 2021.
Next year, Rome and Vatican City will also host their ‘Holy Year’ jubilee, which is expected to attract some 30 million visitors from around the world and put additional pressure on locals.
But some residents worry that keeping tourists away will affect their livelihoods or tarnish their city’s reputation.
Protesters clashed with police in Venice in April over a new imposition of a “tourist tax,” which requires short-stay visitors to pay a 5-euro “entry fee.”
Protesters armed with signs and banners lined the historic canals of the Italian city to show their contempt, and were met by baton-wielding riot police.
Critics argue that the 5 euro (£4.30) fee, initially in place during the summer, is unlikely to significantly affect the around 30 million trips made to Venice each year.
In a surprising statement, former mayor Massimo Cacciari went so far as to suggest that tourists should flatly refuse to pay the “absurd” entrance fee, arguing that they already “pay for everything.”
Members of social centers confront police officers during a demonstration in Piazzale Roma against the introduction of a city entrance fee for day-trippers, in Venice, April 25.
Protesters in Barcelona threw water guns at tourists eating in popular places in the city
Cacciari noted in a statement to the Adnkronos news agency that daytime visitors already pay “three times more than residents” for public transportation in the city, and that all travelers contribute to the longevity of Venice’s restaurants and museums.
Representatives also argue that the fee will not solve fundamental problems but will only tarnish the city’s public image.
Simone Venturini, councilor responsible for tourism, defended the policy as part of a wider strategy trying to tackle the problems of overtourism, although admitted it was not “a magic wand”.
‘Fewer day trippers does not mean less income because overnight tourists are more important to the city’s economy.
“We will see the results in the medium and long term and in the meantime we will evaluate how it goes.”
Spain bore the brunt of the conflict over the issue this summer, with anti-tourism protesters going so far as to spray visitors with water while dining on popular streets.
Under the motto ‘Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism’, some 2,800 people – according to the police – marched through a maritime neighborhood in Barcelona to demand a new economic model that reduces the millions of tourists who visit each year.
Protesters carried signs reading “Barcelona is not for sale” and “Tourists go home”, before some used water guns on tourists eating outdoors.
