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I'm an American and I'll be going to Italy in July.

  1. Is it common for my AirBnB hosts to ask for our passport information? My host asked me for my passport info and the others who will be staying with me. I have seen on a couple of travels sites that do confirm it but I can't find any official statement. The closest statement I found is the following on a non-official Italy tourism site

Generally, a copy of your hotel registration will suffice if you are staying at a hotel. Otherwise, however, you will have to go to a police office to complete the form (dichiarazione di presenza). Failing to do so may result in expulsion. Travellers staying longer than 90 days do not need to complete this declaration, but must instead have an appropriate visa and must obtain a residence permit

Because he has asked this question, some of his other requests are odd:

  1. He has also said that I need to pay about 70 euros, in cash, for a traveler tax while staying on the Amalfi coast. This was also confirmed by other tourist online on other sites. I'm still skeptical though.

  2. My host also asked me to pay another 70 euros, in cash, for a final cleaning cost. This last one doesn't sound right. I would imagine that it would be added to my bill. Does anyone have any insight?

EDIT: The final cleaning cost was NOT included in the AirBnB costs. Once I booked it they messaged me directly with this information.

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    There are local tourist taxes to pay in certain cities in Italy, which the host will normally collect on arrival - make sure you get a receipt. It’s also normal to provide passport details at that time. Final cleaning costs are at the discretion of the host, and should be shown on the listing details on AirBnB, if they’re not it means the host won’t have to pay the relevant AirBnB service fee.
    – Traveller
    May 15, 2018 at 17:28
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    Report the host to AirBnb, he's breaking the terms and services of the site by asking you to go around the platform to make a cleaning payment. For the tax, I assume the host won't be collecting that amount, right? If so, that's fine. In the US, if I went to Yosemite and told them I'd be spending a few days inside the park, I would expect to pay something at the entrance of the park. For the passport info, that's fine too? They can make a copy of it too, just don't let them keep it. Some hosts want to keep the passport, but that's against EU law.
    – Stephan Branczyk
    May 15, 2018 at 23:25
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    Sorry @CHJ but your comment is incorrect. In large parts of Europe (and possibly elsewhere) it is required hotels/AirBnB hosts to take a copy of your passport. europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/residence/documents-formalities/… "Some EU countries require you to report your presence to the relevant authorities (often the town hall or local police station) within a reasonable period of time after arrival and may impose a penalty, such as a fine, if you fail to do so."
    – skifans
    May 17, 2018 at 8:20
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    @skifrans. Hotels are required to write down surname and passport nr. It is against the law for them to copy a passport. They do it often, but it is really illegal!
    – RHA
    May 17, 2018 at 14:01
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    Traveller's tax in amalfi is in the order of a few euros per person per day depending on the type of accommodation: comune.amalfi.sa.it/sezione.asp?IDS=134 How long are you staying for?
    – JoErNanO ♦
    May 18, 2018 at 6:11

3 Answers 3

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Asking for a copy of a passport is quite common. Whether it's legally required I can't answer, but the more problematic part is asking for the cleaning charge in cash. This is against Airbnb's terms.

If a host asks you for more money than what you paid on the site and the extra charge wasn’t stated in the listing or in the message thread, you can dispute the charges in the Resolution Center. Never pay a host directly for these charges.

You should tell the host to request the money via the "Resolution Center", and then dispute it if the charge wasn't stated on the listing. Furthermore, you should make sure you only communicate with the host on this matter via the Airbnb messaging facility, to ensure you have evidence.

Airbnb have added an exception to this policy for local taxes. If the tax is disclosed on the listing, the host may ask for it to be paid in cash on arrival.

This host is essentially charging you an extra €140 beyond what the listing stated. This is gaming the system, and Airbnb will likely ban him for doing it.

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    @HankyPanky Even if it’s common practice, it’s still against the rules. There’s no reason it can’t be collected via Airbnb. The fact that the host is collecting cleaning fees in cash too underscores that he’s gaming the system.
    – MJeffryes
    May 17, 2018 at 11:42
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    @HankyPanky Here's an example from my recent booking. Taxes and cleaning should be charged via Airbnb, not in cash. The only reason for charging in cash is to conceal the true cost of the booking. i.imgur.com/x7bTjn0.png
    – MJeffryes
    May 17, 2018 at 11:48
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    @HankyPanky If Airbnb didn't care about it, then the help page I linked would say so. It doesn't. Airbnb is unequivocal: "Never pay a host directly for these charges". And incidentally, OP hasn't stated whether the charges were mentioned in the listing. Just because you've observed and accepted some hosts breaking these terms, it doesn't mean that it's allowed.
    – MJeffryes
    May 17, 2018 at 13:18
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    Asking for a copy of a passport can't be legally required, it is exactly the opposite: copying a passport is against the law in Europe. Only Police, customs and employers may (and must) copy a passport. Hotels do it often, but in fact they are only required to write down surname and passport nr.
    – RHA
    May 17, 2018 at 13:58
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    @RHA I focused my answer on the fees aspect, since this is most easily actionable, and clearly against Airbnb's terms. I agree that photocopying passports contravenes data protection regulations, but it's much harder to complain about this.
    – MJeffryes
    May 17, 2018 at 15:11
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1) Asking for passport info: it's legal and actually required of them

Asking to submit photos of passports: not very legal

What I generally do is just provide the passport info, saying that they can verify those on arrival when we check in. I do not submit photos of my passport to anyone.

3) The final cleaning fee should be included in the AirBnB total. Refuse to pay it if they are asking for it outside of that.

2) The tourist tax is outside of the AirBnB total.

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  • "not very legal" what does it mean?
    – LEQADA
    Jun 5, 2019 at 13:35
  • GDPR comes to mind for one thing. They're legally required to register your stay, thus why they need the info on the passport, but not a photocopy of the passport itself. You can present that upon checking for verification.
    – Carlo
    Jun 6, 2019 at 19:51
  • Not sure if they are affected by GDPR. Is it considered as a business?
    – LEQADA
    Jun 7, 2019 at 14:37
  • @LEQADA GDPR affects ALL businesses. Businesses are not allowed to store data covered under GDPR beyond when it is necessary for them to do so and some data not at all. Also, it may well be illegal to make photo copies of your passport in the first place, except for very specific purposes (e.g. mine states it's illegal unless required by law).
    – jwenting
    Jan 9, 2020 at 6:28
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The Reporting your presence is required in Italy, which the host must comply with.

The likelihood is high that they are asking for the passport image beforhand so that they can fill out the form (twice) so that all you have to do is sign it upon arrival.

If you don't want to do this, print out the corresponding form, fill it out properly and tell them that you will give to them upon arrivel.
(or send them all the information asked for in the form)

The host may/must want to varify the data contained in the form against your passport/ID.

for those staying in hotels or other reception facilities the registration form submitted to the hotel management upon check-in

For EU-Citizens this is not strickly required, but...

If they decide not to report their presence, they will be deemed to stay in Italy for a period exceeding three months, unless proven otherwise.

Note: Each form has 2 sides, where you must fill out the same information

  • the second is intended for you as proof of registration

The hotel will provide a copy of this form to the foreign guest who can show it to police officers, if requested.

Italy:

European Union citizens

Reporting your presence
Union citizens or their family members, depending on the length of their stay, can report their presence to a police office, filling out the relevant form ('Declaration of presence' for Eu nationals). If they decide not to report their presence, they will be deemed to stay in Italy for a period exceeding three months, unless proven otherwise.

Hence, EU citizens who intend to stay for less than three months are not subject to the obligation of reporting their presence or to any other formalities.

If they do not report their presence in Italy, they must be able to prove that they have not stayed in Italy for longer than three months.

In case they cannot provide any evidence of their entry, they will be deemed to stay in Italy for a period exceeding three months.

If they decide to report their presence, they need to follow the procedures set forth in the relevant decree by the Minister of the Interior. Until the decree is issued, they can report their presence to the local police office, filling out the relevant form.

Foreign nationals [non EU-Citizens]

Foreigners who stay in Italy for visits, business, tourism or study for periods not exceeding 3 months are not required to apply for a residence permit. Instead, they must report their presence in the country, following one of the procedures mentioned below:

  • aliens arriving from a non -Schengen country must report their presence to the border authorities and obtain a Schengen stamp in their travel document on the day of arrival. This stamp is considered the equivalent of the declaration of presence;

  • aliens arriving from countries which apply the Schengen Agreement must report their presence to the local Questura (central police station in the province) filling out the relevant form (dichiarazione di presenza), within 8 days of their arrival; for those staying in hotels or other reception facilities the registration form submitted to the hotel management upon check-in, signed by the foreign guest on arrival, constitutes the declaration of presence. The hotel will provide a copy of this form to the foreign guest who can show it to police officers, if requested.

Note: The original text link is faulty (Link to form for EU-Citizens)

Sources:

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