Opening a guesthouse

Guesthouses are accommodation establishments with no more than twenty-five guest rooms, even if arranged in several flats in the same building or in different buildings, however directly connected to each other, in which accommodation services are provided as well as any food and beverage services only to the persons accommodated and other accessory services.

Without prejudice to compliance with the regulations in force on town planning, health, fire prevention and safety, guesthouses must meet the following minimum structural requirements

a) a minimum room surface area of at least 8 and 12 square metres for rooms authorised for one or two beds respectively, increased by 6 square metres for each additional bed authorised; for the attainment of the minimum surface area, the walk-in wardrobe is also taken into account up to a maximum of 2 square metres
b) a minimum surface area of the kitchen and the living room used as a kitchen or living room of the flat of at least 2 and 8 square metres, respectively;
(c) a minimum surface area of private bathrooms of at least 3 square metres and a minimum equipment consisting of a washbasin, bathtub or shower and a toilet;
(d) a minimum number of private bathrooms attached to the accommodation units of at least 40 per cent of the total number of rooms and flats
e) a shared bathroom for rooms without a private bathroom to the extent of one bathroom for every eight beds or fraction thereof; the shared bathroom must be equipped with the minimum surface area and requirements stipulated by municipal building regulations for bathrooms in private dwellings

f) minimum room equipment consisting of a wardrobe or walk-in wardrobe, a table and, for each sleeping place, a bed, a chair or armchair/sofa seat and a bedside table or equivalent

g) one or more rooms intended for the administration of food and beverages for a total area of at least 0.8 square metres per bed, possibly coinciding, in the cases referred to in Article 31, paragraph 3, of the provincial law, with the restaurant room of establishments serving traditional meals to the public; in any case, a minimum area of not less than 8 square metres must be guaranteed

h) at least one telephone set for common use.
The occasional and temporary addition of a bed is permitted in each room if guests accompany a minor; in this case the added bed must be removed when the guest leaves.

The services that must be guaranteed are

• reception service ensured at least 8 hours a day
• room or flat cleaning service once a day;
• change of bedroom and bathroom linen at least once a week and in any case at each guest change;
• change of kitchen linen at each client change;
• constant supply of electricity, hot water and room heating.

The serving of food and beverages, if any, is limited to the persons accommodated.

The operator of the activity is bound by the following obligations

• Acquiring, indicating and displaying the CIN(see all information)
• Communicate the names of guests to thePublic Safety Authority, within 24 hours, exclusively via the portal weballoggitati.it accessible with the credentials provided by the Trento Police Headquarters.
• Enter tourist presences online (C59-ISTAT forms) in the Provincial Tourism System (STU) for the ISTAT statistical survey.
• Pay theprovincial tourist tax, collected from guests, via the Pagosemplice portal on the established deadlines. All information on the application of the provincial tourist tax can be found on the Trentino Riscossioni S.p.a website in the section dedicated to the tourist tax.

The application may be submitted by natural and legal persons wishing to undertake the activity of roomletting in entrepreneurial form.

Submit the SCIA - segnalazione certificata di inizio attività (certified start-up notification) for guesthouses to the relevant municipality through the Single Telematic Service for Productive Activities (SUAP) of the Trentino municipalities, accessible at the link: www.impresainungiorno.gov.it after authentication using SPID, CIE or CNS.

It is possible to request, using theappropriate form,the attribution of the quality level of the structure with the 'sun' symbol if the requirements are met.

The method adopted refers to the use of the 'sun' symbol. In particular, there is the attribution of 1, 2, 3 or 4 Suns with reference to the structural and service parameters offered.

Applications for change or termination must also be submitted in the same way.

In the event that the landlord carries out the activity of serving traditional meals to the public in the same building complex, the serving of food and beverages may also be addressed to persons not accommodated in the landlord's premises.

The following documentation must be attached to the SCIA to be submitted to the Municipality

1. photocopy of the valid identity card (only if the SCIA is not signed in the presence of the employee in charge)
2. copy of valid residence card or residence permit (for non-EU citizens)
3. receipt of payment of the processing fee where applicable.

The competent Municipality, within 60 days of the communication, will carry out checks on the declarations and will communicate any reasons that prevent the continuation of the activity.
The Receptivity and Tourist Professions Office of the Tourism and Sport Service will provide the user with the credentials to access the provincial Tourism Information System(STU) to manage the appropriate registry changes and to communicate the presences for statistical purposes (C59-ISTAT).

The accommodation and tourist professions office also sends new holders the model for the attribution of the quality level as provided for by the Provincial Council resolution no. 1575 of 25 June 2009, amended by resolution no. 659 of 26 March 2010, for the recognition of the different quality levels to be awarded to guesthouses in the Province of Trento, pursuant to article 31, paragraph 1 bis of Provincial Law 7/2002.