What To Do About Airbnb?

What does 'living like a local' mean if the locals are gone?

When I travel away from Rome, I act differently than when I leave home for other reasons.

With my trolley suitcase trailing behind me en route to the airport or train station, I like to dangle my keychain, looped through a finger on my free hand. If I can, I’ll make a phone call in Italian -- gesturing, speaking a little louder than normal. I’ll walk with purpose and attack crosswalks aggressively. I don’t take photos. If my dog, Mocha, is trotting at my side, all the better.

These aren’t nervous tics; they’re camouflage. It’s learned behavior in a city where the line between resident and visitor has grown uncomfortable. And I don’t want anyone to think I’m part of the problem.

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Tourist go home

People have been complaining about the noise and crowds the center of Rome since ancient times. The city was Europe’s first true “must-see” destination, after the sprawling network of safe, well-marked Roman roads made it easier for people to visit the Eternal City simply for leisure. By the early days of the Empire, Caesar Augustus was already redesigning the city specifically to impress outsiders.

Today, the problem of over-tourism spreads far beyond Rome. Tourist centers like Florence, Venice, and Naples are strained to near their breaking point. Ditto for smaller hotspots like the Amalfi Coast and Cinque Terre.

This appeared on a wall in Florence last year (Magenta Florence photo)

The problem has spread across the continent. Resentment between locals and visitors is on the rise. Last summer, massive demonstrations protesting against over-tourism erupted across Italy, Spain, Greece, and Portugal. Frustrated lawmakers have responded with piecemeal measures: tourist taxes, parking fees, restrictions on where visitors can sit or stand. I’ve seen city walls bearing spray-painted slogans including “Tourist Go Home,” “Your Airbnb was my home,” and I’ve even seen one reading, “Tourism = Terrorism.”

Fairly or unfairly, over-tourism is blamed for contributing to everything from housing shortages and rising prices to falling birthrates, stubborn unemployment, and behavioral changes that follow when residents lose ownership over their neighborhoods.

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No bursts of laughter