Visitors to Italy will now have an extra step in their Airbnb check-in process as the country has banned lockboxes for home rentals.

The days of arriving late at an Airbnb in Italy and opening up the keybox to let yourself will soon be over after the country issued a ban on self-check-ins under a new law it says is needed to combat potential terrorism.

A staggering 57 million tourists visited Italy in 2023 attracted by the country's good weather, food and beautiful historic locations.

Italy has banned self-check-ins for Airbnb and other short-term rental properties, requiring hosts to conduct in-person key handovers to prevent potential security risks, CNN News reports.

Guests staying in holiday rental properties in Italy, including Airbnb and Booking properties, will no longer be able to check in independently after the Italian interior ministry banned key boxes in a bid to “prevent public order and safety risks”.

Tourists in Italy will no longer be able to access short-term rentals using key boxes after the country's police chief said owners must verify the identity of guests in person. The move has been brought in as a security measure and follows a similar step being taken in Florence.

Italy is to crack down on short-term let platforms such as Airbnb by decreeing that property owners can no longer use metal key boxes as a means of allowing tourists to access rental apartments.

The Italian Ministry of the Interior has imposed a ban on online check-ins for tourists in short-term rental apartments. That's not all. The use of key lockboxes has also been prohibited. The decision by the Italian ministry is a response to growing concerns over the rapid increase in the number of apartments being allocated for short-term rentals