For five days at the turn of October and November, Lucca is transformed into a veritable open-air animated comic strip that runs through the streets of the city. Walking through the streets or along the walls you will meet fantastic characters played by cosplayers in the unique location that Lucca offers.
The area of the event in recent editions is about 30,000 m², of which about 15,000 is exhibition space.
It is attended by all the most important players in the industry and a growing number of specialized stores, comic book stores and recreational-cultural associations. A variety of events take place during the days of the market exhibition including, concerts, screenings, meetings with authors, presentations, live role-playing and cosplayer tournaments, and shows dedicated to the comics and animation industry in general.
As part of both Lucca Comics and Lucca Games, one can also find exhibitions and exhibition routes dedicated to the world's leading artists or titles of works featured at the festival. Some of these exhibitions are set up in the city's evocative Renaissance setting, within Lucca's own ancient palaces.
Usually in the booths where the exhibitions are held, they are given the same names as the places in the city where they were placed (squares, buildings, streets).
The last pre-Covid edition touched 270,000 spectators spread over the 3-day event, and for this year's edition the days have increased to 5 expecting significant visitor numbers.
LUCCA COMICS & GAMES ON THE VISITORS' SIDE
After securing tickets and making travel arrangements, the main problem remains where to sleep.
Hotels and B&Bs in the historic center are usually booked from the day after the end of the event and run out of beds in a very short time.
An important contribution to where to stay is made by SHORT RENTALS.
Many owners make their homes available with short contracts and favorable prices compared to hotels ensuring greater freedom and comfort for visitors.
The best way to choose an accommodation is to consider the distance from the city walls and thus the fairgrounds in addition to the means of transportation by which you will get to the city.
INSIDE THE WALLS.
This area needs little explanation: Lucca is surrounded by walls that encompass the historic center.
All accommodations within the walls are to be considered practically in the fairgrounds. You can comfortably walk from the station and are not allowed to park there, so you will quietly experience the event while strolling through the city's alleys.
Most apartments are concentrated in this area with prices ranging from €300 per night for a 2-person attic to €600 per night for two rooms and 4 people.
FIRST BELT OUTSIDE THE WALLS
This is obviously the most popular range up to about 2 km from the walls and you can have a comfortable distance of 5 minutes maximum 10 minutes on foot. You can walk the distance and if you are near the southern part of Lucca you are also convenient if you arrive by train.
SECOND BELT OUTSIDE THE WALLS
We are located at a distance of 3 to 6 km from the center in the first suburbs, about 10 minutes' drive from the walls.
The area offers numerous accommodations at lower prices than the center or the very first suburbs. For a cottage with two rooms and parking space you can pay around 250€ per night while for an apartment for two people around 100€ per night.
PERIPHERY
The whole surrounding area that also includes areas within a 30-minute drive or train distance.
In this area, housing for four people is priced between 50€ and 80€ per night, which is extremely more advantageous even if it requires moving by car.
LUCCA COMICS & GAMES ON THE SIDE OF HOMEOWNERS
Given the large number of visitors who will reach the city for a few days, Lucca Comics is an opportunity not to be missed for those who have a house to rent in or around Lucca.
But how can we rent our homes and be in compliance?
One of the favorite forms for landlords to put their properties into income are short leases or tourist rentals. This possibility was regulated by Decree Law No. 50/2017, which for the first time provided regulation from a civil and tax point of view of this type of activity.
But what is meant by short leases?
Short-term leases are defined, according to Article 4 of Decree Law No. 50/2017, as leases that have the following characteristics:
- They must be related to residential properties
- These must be properties with cadastral category A1 to A11 (excluding A10). Appurtenances are not taken into account.
- Maximum length of overnight stay of 30 days (limit refers to 30 days per year for each subject on the same property)
- Stipulation by natural persons i.e., they must be "private" persons, thus outside the exercise of business activities.
The latest novelty on the subject is the one introduced by Law No. 178/20, which stipulated the obligation of exercising the activity in an entrepreneurial form for the person who is renting more than 4 apartments. This is a provision aimed at identifying, with objective criteria, the exercise of an activity that escapes from the definition of tourist rental, to result in a true entrepreneurial activity.
If you are looking for an easy way to income your "second home," short leases are definitely the best choice you can make for a good income without a major direct commitment.
As we will see below, the administrative and tax requirements associated with a short lease are many but you can "simplify your life" by appointing an intermediary to whom you can entrust your property and through a mandate contract (with or without representation) you will receive the proceeds, which in some cases will already be net of taxation. Even at the level of taxation there are several advantages in fact, short term rental can take advantage of the benefits of the dry coupon and get flat taxation at 21%.
Decree Law No. 50/2017 includes in the definition of short tourist lease (short rentals), not only the mere provision of the property to the guest, but also the possibility of offering some additional services. This is very interesting, but attention should be paid to the fact that the additional services allowed are only those related to the rental and are provision of linen, change of linen and cleaning at the end of the stay. All other services such as breakfast or tours, on the other hand, fall under business operation.
The fulfillments you will have to perform are:
- Draft the contract and have the tenants sign it on the day of their arrival
- Receipt of payment for cash payments with €2 revenue stamp
- Calculate tourist tax where applicable
- Communicating guest names to the State Police through AccommodationWeb
If you wish this experience can also be used by you, through our consulting service we will guide you to find out how much your property can yield and whether it has the necessary characteristics to be attractive for short rentals.
Stop by the agency or call us at 0583 997201.
Don't wait, rely on a trained professional.
