Rome is currently wrestling with a wave of short-term rentals that has dramatically altered the fabric of its historic core. Recent estimates identify more than 40,000 units classified as extra-hotel accommodation with roughly 33,000 of those packed into the historic centre and the Prati district. The phenomenon extends far beyond a few owners renting a spare room; the majority of the activity is coordinated by specialised property managers who operate beyond ordinary municipal oversight, feeding an overtourism engine that swells tourist numbers year after year.
The rise of “ghost hotels”
Italian legislation permits a dwelling to be labelled a short-term rental only when it contains six rooms or fewer. In reality, many operators ignore this ceiling, creating dense clusters of apartments, studios and entire houses that function as hidden hospitality venues. Federalberghi Rome president Giuseppe Roscioli calls them “hotel fantasma”, emphasizing their anonymity and the difficulty of enforcing tax and building-code rules. He warns that the market is plagued by “confusion and illegality”, noting that a large share of these units are managed by a handful of professional firms that often evade fiscal obligations.
Institutional deadlock
Rome’s assessment officer for productive activitiesValeria Baglio argues that the city cannot reverse the depopulation of its centre without stricter regulation. She points out that the municipality lacks the autonomy to set tougher limits, while the national government has yet to transpose the European directive that, in many EU states, caps short-term rentals more rigorously. The regional contrast is stark: Tuscany has already introduced restrictive measures on vacation-rental licences, whereas Lazio – the region that houses Rome – has not taken comparable steps, leaving local authorities without effective tools to curb the surge.
Consequences for residents
In Municipio I, which encompasses much of the historic centre, demographic data reveal a steady decline in children aged 0-11. The latest figures show an average of 9.2 elderly residents for every newborn. Sky-rocketing property prices, driven by tourist demand, render home ownership or long-term rental unaffordable for many families, prompting a wave of shop closures. Small neighbourhood stores, minimarkets and souvenir stalls are disappearing, a trend amplified by the extension of deliberation 109/2023 which bans the opening of new food-sales premises and souvenir shops within the UNESCO-protected perimeter. The combined effect is a palpable hollowing-out of community life in the city’s most iconic streets.
Parallel pressures in Milan and Bologna
The situation is not confined to Rome. In Milan, international agencies have purchased entire blocks of apartments, converting them into upscale vacation homes that push market rents beyond the reach of local families. Bologna offers another illustration: tourist arrivals climbed from 1.1 million in 2014 to 1.84 million in 2024, while nights booked through digital platforms nearly tripled. This surge has tightened Bologna’s housing market, spurred the closure of traditional shops, and intensified debates over how to balance tourism with livability.
Voices from the sector
Roscioli summed up the climate with the pronouncement: “We call them ‘ghost hotels’” highlighting the scale of the underground network. Baglio, meanwhile, contended that “we ask for rules, the government denies them” reflecting a stalemate that leaves residents bearing the brunt of the crisis. Both officials agree that without coordinated action—from municipal, regional and national levels—the capital’s historic districts risk becoming a landscape dominated by transient visitors rather than a living community.
