The Council of State, in a ruling dated November 21, 2025, accepting the requests of the Ministry of the Interior and Federalberghi, definitively annulled the ruling of the Lazio Regional Administrative Court of May 27, which had suspended the effectiveness of the Ministry of the Interior's circular on the visual identification of guests.

The decision by the highest administrative court reiterates that managers of all accommodation facilities, including short-term rental properties, in addition to receiving guest ID and forwarding it to the public security authorities, must identify guests by verifying in person or via video call that the document holder is the actual guest of the facility.

Bernabò Bocca, president of Federalberghi, noted in a statement that "this procedure significantly increases safety levels, benefiting both guests of accommodation facilities and the general public, especially those who experience the inconvenience of living in buildings where there is a constant flow of unknown people on their way to apartments rented to tourists."

"Visually identifying guests," Bocca continues, "is a commitment that hoteliers (as well as managers of residences, bed and breakfasts, guesthouses, and campsites) have always undertaken with great civic duty, aware of the positive impacts the entire community benefits from, as demonstrated by recent cases in which dangerous criminals have been identified and captured."

(Unioneonline)