Why open a bed and breakfast?

What appeals to travelers who choose the bed and breakfast formula is the familiarity of hospitality, the feeling at home  and immersed in the territory that you decide to visit. Obviously on the other hand, those who open a bed and breakfast should be brought to conviviality and hospitality.

This is not an accommodation service like a hotel that is more structured. The bed and breakfast forces you to open the doors of your home and if you do not do it with heart and passion or just for economic purpose, you really risk not living a good experience (as well as having invested bad time and money).

How to open a bed and breakfast?

The bed and breakfast, according to current regulations,  is an activity managed by private , family-run, which provide guests with their homes and their own rooms in limited numbers.

To understand well what you are talking about, I suggest you deepen the theme immediately reading your regional law of reference (attention that each region has its own regulations !!). This law refers to the main one: Law March 29, 2001, n. 135 –  “Reform of national tourism legislation” , published in the Official Gazette no. 92 of 20 April 2001.

To date, the  B & B activity can also be carried out without any VAT and without registration with the Chamber of Commerce.

When you open a bed and breakfast without VAT, the proceeds will be shown in the tax return and taxed as different income, once deducted the expenses considered related to the activity (utilities, cleaning, food offered to guests, etc.).

The TAR of Lazio in 2016 (sentence No. 6755 of 13 June 2016) removed some rules that limited the occasional activity of bed and breakfast holders. Before the ruling that deregulated the activity, the regional rules required that the bed and breakfasts opened by owners without VAT were closed for a period between 90 and 120 days per year and that precise limits were respected in the minimum size of the home . The administrative court has declared these requests illegitimate, since they limit free competition.

If you want rent management to become your main job, then you will open your position as a landlord, with the consequent opening of the VAT number and registration with the Chamber of Commerce.

Whether you choose to do business in an entrepreneurial or occasional way, you will need to submit a series of documents. First of all, you will have to go to the  SUAP (Single Office for Productive Activities) desk  in your Municipality where you can collect the forms to be filled in for the  Declaration of Begin Activities. 

Once you communicate the  SCIA (Certified Activity Report)  the opening of your bed and breakfast is immediate. The documents that can be requested are different and always different from Region to Region, among these certainly will not lack the plan and the insurance policy to guarantee guests.

At this point you should apply to  FFICES tour of competence  which officially define the classification of your business giving guidance on how to monitor guests to the public security authorities.

Each Region or Municipality, I repeat it again, has its own procedures. Keep in mind that, to date, the City can impose a fee for the investigation of the practice that varies as a cost between 30 and 160 euros.

Open a bed and breakfast: what requirements must the accommodation have?

You assume that you will host people and then you will have to submit to  urban planning rules – building to ensure their safety. It must certainly be understood that your home must be in order with the connections of light, gas, etc.

Obviously not to be underestimated  hygienic-sanitary norms , but synthetically the requisite requisites, even  varying from region to region , are:

  • 14 square meters for the double room, 8 square meters for the single;
  • normally the owner of the bed and breakfast must have the residence (or the domicile during the period of opening of the bed and breakfast) in the structure. Exceptionally some Regions grant to live alongside, but with obligation of availability;
  • minimum surface area of ​​the house compared to the beds;
  • limit of rooms: from a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 6, for a total of beds between 3 and 20, with large differences between region and region;
  • minimum requirements for furnishing rooms: in some regions the rules require that in the rooms there are closets, bedside tables, lamps, chairs, baskets, etc .;
  • autonomy by guests in being able to access the room or the toilet (which are not those used by family members);
  • request for basic furnishing elements that are also necessary in bathrooms;
  • the obligation of daily cleaning or indication of the cadence of the change of sheets;

How to open a B & B – The laws on the Bed and Breakfast

THE B & B IN ITALY

The B & B grows and we receive several requests for information about the opening of a B & B in Italy . Not only that, the B & B is also constantly growing in the preferences of travelers thanks to the diversification of the type of offer that has occurred in recent years and thanks to the widespread distribution throughout the country.

Our managers have been asked to make a rating of satisfaction on what best meets the needs and desires of customers. The reception , with 24.29%, is the voice that has garnered more support (the 2007 report indicated instead accommodation in the first place among the preferences). The appreciation of hospitality in B & B meets the philosophy of the formula of family accommodation where the added value is given by the 360 ​​° discovery of the territory including contact with the people who live in them. However, the quality / price ratio continues to play an important role for the choice of a B & B compared to other accommodation and reception formulas. ( REPORT B ​​& B ITALIA 2011 ).

The bed and breakfast has allowed and allows even those who have reduced economic means to travel or travel longer. Moreover, more and more people feel the need to undertake genuine human relationships and to get in touch with the lifestyle of the land that hosts them during the trip. Staying in Bed and Breakfast allows anyone to experience the unique experience of sharing the lifestyle of the place and the people who live there. Opening a B & B means being able to benefit from an additional family “entry” and to open up to the outside world with the desire to share experiences by transmitting the love for their territory.

HOW TO OPEN A BED AND BREAKFAST ACTIVITY [LA SCIA]

According to the Regional Standards in force are family-run accommodation, Bed and Breakfast , accommodation facilities run by private individuals who, using their family organization, use part of their home, with annual or seasonal opening periods and with a number of rooms and limited beds, based on regional sector laws or specific municipal regulations.

The first thing to do to open a B & B is to consult the specific REGIONAL LAW on the subject (see list at the bottom of the page). The Regional Laws refer to the Main Law : Law of 29 March 2001, n. 135 – “Reform of national tourism legislation”, published in the Official Gazette no. 92 of 20 April 2001 .

Subsequently you need to access via the Internet or go to the SUAP counter of the relevant Municipality to collect the forms necessary for the Declaration of Commencement of Activities. The SCIA (Certified Initiation Report) , is the new procedure that replaces the DIA (Statement of Start Activities) . The advantage offered by this new tool is that with the presentation of the SCIA the opening of the accommodation is immediate .

The documents necessary for the complete definition of the practice must be attached to SCIA , by means of paper or electronic means. The annexes vary from region to region and you can move from the layout of the house to the property or rental contract, to get to the copy of the liability insurance policy in favor of the customers.

The next steps concern the start of the practices, managed by the local AAPIT or by the Tourist Offices, for the classification of the structure and for the monitoring and communication of the guests to the Public Safety Authorities. Regarding these procedures, the competent offices should be consulted as there could be differences between the region and the region .