City tax on hotel accommodation in Rome
When you make a hotel reservation in Rome, make sure that you ask whether or not the Roman tourist tax is included in your room rate. This tourist tax (contributo al soggiorno, in Italian) was introduced in January 2011 and is meant to get more money into the pockets of the mayor of Rome, money that is to be used to improve on the city’s infrastructure and thus should contribute to tourists’ enjoyment of their Rome holiday.
The amount to be paid depends on the type of accommodation selected. People staying in a 4- or 5 star hotel will be paying 3 Euros per person per night on top of the room rate, while for visitors to Rome staying in 1-, 2- and 3 star hotels as well as Rome bed and breakfasts, guesthouses (affittacamere, in Italian), residences, holiday homes and agriturismo’s this is only 2 Euros per person per night. People staying in campgrounds and youth hostels will only be paying 1 Euro 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.
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.)
