Airbnb: “Created ad hoc technological solution for Italy for the tourist tax”

For Italy, Airbnb, which starting from 2022 will activate the digital collection of the tourist tax throughout Italy, directly dealing with the payment for short rentals for hosts and municipalities who request it, had to create a technological solution ‘to hoc ‘that will make life easier and more sustainable for local administrations, hosts and guests. This was stated in an interview with Adnkronos by Chris Lehane, Airbnb Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Communications. “We couldn’t take the fiscal tools we have in other countries and apply them to Italy. Italy is special in many ways. It has special food, it has a special history, it has a special art, special people – but it definitely has an approach. special to taxes. And for that we had to hire some of the best engineers in the world to introduce and operate this system in all the different jurisdictions. It was no small feat, but I also think it reflects our commitment to do this. work “, explains Lehane who says he is” enthusiastic “for this” specific technological solution that will work in Italy as we go forward and will allow us to work with local authorities. It marks a very interesting moment “. of digital collection of the tourist tax throughout Italy, he observes, “it started in 2019” also because “Italian tax law is really complex”: “it was a long job because we had to take take into consideration local and political issues and build a system that is unique to Italy “, explains Lehane. The pandemic, explains Lehane,” has led to a tourism revolution “. Today, he notes, “tourist flows are more dispersed. In the last quarter a customer was hosted by a host in 100,000 different cities in 220 countries”. And in Italy, he adds, “we see a version” of this revolution: “during the pandemic we have recorded more trips to Sicily than we have seen in Rome and Florence combined. A phenomenon that would not have happened before the pandemic. Italy, therefore, there has been a greater dispersion of tourist flows “. This ‘revolution’, he explains, “creates new opportunities for a real renaissance of travel to Italy for operators and for the economy. We expect new opportunities for the property economy for the benefit of Italians”. The digital collection of the tourist tax “will allow local authorities to obtain benefits from this type of travel”. Currently, Aibnb has reached an agreement for the digital collection of the tourist tax with 24 of the main Italian destinations including Rome, Florence , Turin, Naples and Palermo and soon aims for new agreements with other municipalities and perhaps with Venice. Before the pandemic, Lehane notes, “about 26% of all trips through Airbnb in Italy were in Rome, Milan, Florence and Venice. Today the share is less than 17%. Travel to Italy has changed but we hope that the announcement of this new system will allow us to make progress in all municipalities. It is our goal and our ambition and I think it can represent an important element useful in all these destinations “. Even for smaller cities, Airbnb can be an economic opportunity. “Just a couple of years ago, we made an interesting partnership with a small town in southern Italy, Grottole in Basilicata, where we helped develop an Airbnb group. We sent some people there for a summer – three or four months I think. – to help support the city. It was before the pandemic but as we observe from our platform there is a huge interest among travelers, especially millennial travelers, to go to these places, especially to smaller places, and the pandemic has really accelerated this phenomenon “. Today on a global level, he explains, “trips to rural places increased by 40% in the last quarter compared to the same period in 2019. A phenomenon that is also found in Italy. And this just gives you an idea of ​​how everything is. really changed after the pandemic. ”