Self check-in, how it works

Anyone who has never taken a short let imagines that without a reception something must be complicated. The opposite is true: self check-in is the simplest part of the trip, and for anyone arriving by plane or train it transforms the day of arrival.

Here is how it works with us, step by step.

Before you leave

Documents. We need the details of a valid identity document for every adult guest. This is not a commercial request: in Italy the host is required by law to report guests' details to the police within twenty-four hours of arrival, through a government portal.

We ask for documents before arrival, so that on arrival there is nothing to do. Passport or identity card are fine; a driving licence is not valid for this purpose.

The number of guests. It is binding, because it is what was declared to the police. If someone joins, it has to be reported beforehand.

The tourist tax. Paid separately, via a link that arrives before or during the stay.

The day you arrive

The entry instructions come from us before your arrival, on the channel you are already using to talk to us. They are personal, they apply to that stay, and they contain everything you need: how to reach the address from whichever transport you are on, and how to get in.

The exact address comes with the instructions. On the site and in listings we publish the street and the district, as every serious platform does: the number and the rest follow once the booking is confirmed.

You choose the hour, from 15:00 onwards. There is nobody to notify and nobody to wake: if your flight lands at half past midnight, you go in at half past one and that is entirely fine.

If something goes wrong

The flight is delayed. Not a problem, and precisely why this system exists. You do not even need to tell us, though a message is always welcome.

You arrive before 15:00. There is a full clean between guests, so the apartment may not be ready. Ask in advance: if the day is free, we can often let you in early.

You want to leave your bags. We have no storage, but in the centre and near the stations there are luggage services charging by the hour. Tell us in advance and we will point you to the handiest one.

Something is unclear. We answer ourselves, in Italian, English and the other languages of the site. There is no call centre: there is the person who runs that apartment.

Leaving

By 10:00. You leave the flat, close up, and that is it: nothing to hand over to anyone, no inspection to wait for.

If you have an afternoon flight and would rather not drag a suitcase around, ask: on days with no incoming guest, a later departure is sometimes possible.

Why it beats a reception

It looks like an operational detail and instead it changes the trip. With a reception, your arrival depends on somebody else's hours: a delayed flight becomes an awkward phone call, a missed train becomes a problem.

With self check-in your arrival depends only on you. It is the same difference as between a hotel and a home — which is, in the end, why people choose an apartment.

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