When you make a hotel reservation in Rome, make sure that you ask whether or not the Roman tourist tax or city tax is included in your room rate. This tourist tax (contributo al soggiorno, in Italian) was introduced in January 2011, upped in September 2014 and upped again in October 2023. This money is to be used to improve on the city’s infrastructure and thus should contribute to tourists’ enjoyment of their Rome holiday. For the moment, the new rates are valid till December 2024. 2025 being a Jubilee year, it would not be surprising if rated were to go up again then.
Tourist Tax Rome 2023-2024
How Much Tourist Tax Should You Pay in Rome?
The amount to be paid depends on the type of accommodation selected.
People staying in a 5 star hotel will be paying 10 Euros per person per night on top of the room rate, while those staying in a 4 star hotel will pay only 7,50 Euros per night. Visitors to Rome staying in 3 star hotels pay 6 Euros per night, those staying in 2 star accommodation 5 Euros and 1-star hotel guests pay 4 Euros.
Guests at Rome bed and breakfasts will pay 6 Euros per night.
People staying in guesthouses (affittacamere, in Italian) will pay between 5 and 7 Euros per night, depending on the category.
Guests of Airbnb-style accommodations will also pay 6 Euros per person per night.
Guests in holiday homes pay either 5 or 6 Euros per night, again depending on the category.
People staying in camp grounds will be paying 3 and those staying in youth hostels 3,50 Euros per night.
The tourist tax is to be paid only during the first 10 days of one’s stay and children under 10 years of age are exempt.
Note that if you book your Rome accommodation through Airbnb, the city tax is already included. Your host cannot charge you anything extra.
Tourist tax on Rome attractions and city tours
It is not only the hotel accommodation in Rome that has become more expensive: There is also an extra charge of 1 Euro per person on city tours, including the popular Hop On Hop Off buses. Museums run by the city of Rome have also added a surcharge of 1 Euro to their admission fees. (It is interesting that this was initially presented as a 1 Euro surcharge for visitors to the Eternal City and now, on the official website of the city, has become a 1 Euro discount for citizens of Rome itself.)
What happens with the tourist tax after you have paid it?
Every three months the hotel, bed and breakfast or hostel has to pay the entire tourism fee collected into the coffers of the city of Rome. The city of Rome is then supposed to use this money to make the capital into an easier place to visit for tourists (and for the Romans themselves) of course. So far it seems fairly safe to say that the city of Rome has done this in as gentle and unobtrusive a manner as possible, with nobody really noticing any changes (at least not for the better).
Improvements (?)
- A number of the tourist information offices in Rome have closed (or reduced their hours).
- The free maps the city used to give out at these offices are usually not available anymore.
- The Settimana della Cultura, or “Culture Week”, one week in April when all the city- and state-run museums were free, has been abolished, and so has the Notte Bianca or “White Night”, when all museums can keep their doors open all night long.
My hotel Hotel Sonya is insisting that I pay in cash Euros to them directly.
Why can’t they add it to their bill and take it from that to give to city of Rome?
Is this a shakedown?
Hello Connie, it doesn’t really matter in what way you pay, just make sure that they give you an official invoice (not just a bit of paper).
Regards, Rene.
Maybe you should s et n DC this article to Airbnb, as my host emailed to inform me if this and they processed the payment.shouldn’t they be on top of this?
Hello Margaret,
I’m sorry, but I don’t really understand your question. “my host emailed to inform me if this and they processed the payment.shouldn’t they be on top of this?” Your host informed you of what? Who processed the payment? Who should be on top of what, exactly? As far as I know, Airbnb (the company) includes the tourist tax in your invoice. The actual Airbnb hosting you cannot charge you anything extra after that.
My B&B is informing me to pay 6€ per person per night but they are not 6 stars hotel this is only a little B&B. Is there a official way to profe they are wrong or is there a possibility to make a complain? Thanks in advance
Hello Ali, actually they are not wrong. As of October 1st 2023, there are new tariffs and for a B&B the new rate is indeed 6 euros per person per night.