Smart Locks removed

Creative protest against mass tourism in Rome

Vacation apartments - often arranged via Airbnb - are usually cheaper than hotels and are correspondingly popular with tourists.(Bild: stock.adobe.com/salarko - stock.adobe.com)

In Rome, protests against mass tourism and the increasing number of vacation apartments are growing. Citizens who feel that too many travelers are coming to the city are resorting to increasingly unusual methods.

A video is circulating on the internet of anonymous activists removing so-called smart locks, i.e. the key fobs for automatic check-in at vacation apartments that can be found in many areas of the capital, a hundred meters from the Circus Maximus to protest against the proliferation of short-term rentals.

Where the networked lock was supposed to be was a message
In place of the Smart Locks, the activists left a Robin Hood-like hat and a note saying, "If you're looking for the Smart Locks and can't find them, read below," it read.

"Short-term rentals are taking space away from families"
On the piece of paper, the anonymous activists denounce the increase in the number of tourist apartments in Rome: "The more profitable short-term rentals are crowding out long-term rentals and taking space away from families to make room for tourists," they said.

This trend is intensifying as Rome prepares for the Catholic Jubilee Year 2025, which will attract around 30 million pilgrims to the city. "In Rome alone, there are more than 50,000 people with housing problems, which is more than three times the 16,000 in 2022. 22,000 people are living on the streets in the metropolitan area of the capital," it said.