Software for your holiday rental or B&B in Italy: what does it have to handle?

Short answer. Software for a holiday rental or B&B in Italy has to do more than run a calendar and a channel manager. It also has to report your guests through Alloggiati Web, send the ISTAT statistics to your region, show your CIN and, if you have a partita IVA, send an electronic invoice to the SDI. So check those four obligations first, and the feature list after that.

Perhaps you own a house in Tuscany or near Lake Garda, or you run a small B&B there. Most software comparisons will tell you about channels and booking engines. Those matter, but it is the Italian reporting duties that take up your time every week. This article covers what you need to tick off, what a system can take over for you, and what always stays with you.

1. Channels: one calendar for Booking.com, Airbnb and your own site

The basics are the same everywhere. A booking on one channel has to update availability on the others straight away, and you want to manage rates in one place. Ask whether the connection runs through the channel's API or through iCal: iCal only passes on blocked dates, and it lags behind. For the difference between a PMS, a channel manager and a booking engine, see this overview.

2. Alloggiati Web: reporting every guest to the Questura

Anyone offering accommodation in Italy reports every guest to the Questura (art. 109 TULPS), including Italians and children. This has to happen within 24 hours of arrival, and within 6 hours for a stay of one night at most.

Ask your software supplier:

• Do the reports go out automatically through the web service, or do you upload a file?
• Do guests fill in their own details, in their own language?
• Can you see per guest whether the report was accepted or rejected, and why?
• Is the daily receipt kept? The Polizia di Stato only holds on to it for 30 days.

One thing no system takes off your hands: under current case law, a registration completed by the guest alone is not sufficient identification. You have to see the guest on arrival, in person or by video call.

3. ISTAT: the daily report to your region

The statistics on your guests (movimento clienti, formerly the C59 form) go to your region, not to ISTAT itself. Most regions use Ross1000 and expect a report every day, including days without arrivals and days you are closed.

The region is what decides this, so ask before you choose. Puglia uses SPOT, Sicily uses Turist@t and part of Tuscany has its own system. Check whether your region is connected directly or whether you will have to upload a file yourself.

4. CIN and regional code: visible on your listings

Since 1 January 2025, a short-let property or accommodation provider in Italy must have a CIN (Codice Identificativo Nazionale). You apply for it through the Ministry of Tourism's BDSR database at bdsr.ministeroturismo.gov.it. The code has to appear in your listings and be displayed outside the property. Some regions also issue a code of their own. Check that your software can show the code on your website and booking engine, and per property if each one has its own CIN.

5. Invoice or receipt: it depends on your status

With a partita IVA, every invoice travels as an XML file through the Sistema di Interscambio (SDI). If you let privately without a partita IVA, the guest gets a receipt rather than an electronic invoice. With a partita IVA, ask whether the software connects to the package your accountant uses, and whether credit notes on cancellation work properly. Which regime applies to you is something to settle with your Italian accountant. No software decides that for you.

The imposta di soggiorno (tourist tax) is set by each municipality, including rates and exemptions. Check your municipality's website for those.

6. Free or paid?

Free packages exist, but look at what is actually included. The question is not only what it costs, but how much time you still lose to manual work: retyping guests into Alloggiati Web, a daily ISTAT report, keeping calendars up to date. If a package charges commission on bookings instead of a fixed price, count that in too.

How BedFlow PMS handles this

BedFlow PMS combines a channel manager, a booking engine and invoicing. For properties in Italy it adds Alloggiati Web, ISTAT through Ross1000, the CIN on your site and emails, and the electronic invoice through Fatture in Cloud. If your region uses its own system such as SPOT or Turist@t, there is no direct connection yet and you can only download a file in Ross1000 format. We would rather say that up front. Prices are on /pricing.

Want to try it with your own property? You can test BedFlow PMS free for 30 days, no credit card needed.