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Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday. Published: 19 Aug, 2026 CET. Updated: Wed 19 Aug 2026 08:36 CET Austria's top court has strengthened transparency rules for private accommodation bookings, while a new tourism collective agreement will raise minimum pay rates from October, plus more stories from Austria on Wednesday. Booking platforms must identify private accommodation providers Austria's Supreme Court has ruled that online booking platforms must tell customers who their private accommodation provider is and provide their contact details. The decision follows a case brought against Booking by consumer association VKI on behalf of the Social Ministry. For commercial accommodation providers, customers already have to be informed of the provider's identity and address before making a booking. The law is less explicit for private accommodation, which has meant customers could enter into contracts without knowing the identity of the person they were dealing with. The court found that platforms must provide the identity and contact details of private providers at least immediately after the booking is completed. It is not enough to provide the information only if the customer explicitly asks for it, and the court rejected Booking's data-protection objections. Tourism collective-agreement minimum pay to rise from October A new collective agreement, or Kollektivvertrag, has been reached for around 250,000 workers in Austria's hotel and restaurant sector after four unsuccessful negotiating rounds, protests and further talks between the vida union and the Austrian Economic Chamber. From October 1st, collectively agreed minimum wages and salaries will rise by an average of 3.02 percent. Apprentices will receive an average increase of 3.44 percent, while workers in wage group 5, the sector's largest employment group, will receive 3.48 percent more. The agreement also includes a fixed bonus for most employees and the option of a voluntary tax-free bonus. Vida negotiator Eva Eberhart said the deal was "not a triumph", but argued that continuing negotiations had improved the result. Austria records sharp fall in first-time asylum applications Austria recorded 244 first-time asylum applications, or Asylanträge, in July 2026, down around 65 percent from 697 in July last year, according to Interior Ministry figures. Including repeat applications, there were 840 asylum applications in July, 48 percent fewer than a year earlier. From January to July, 5,743 applications were submitted, compared with 10,442 over the same period in 2025, a fall of 45 percent. Family-reunification arrivals also dropped sharply, from 853 between January and July 2025 to 60 over the same period this year. Around 43,300 people are currently receiving basic care, including about 5,300 asylum seekers and 25,800 people displaced by the war in Ukraine. Heavy holiday traffic and Frequency crowds expected this weekend Drivers are being warned to expect another busy holiday-changeover weekend from Friday, August 21st to Sunday, August 23rd. ARBÖ expects particularly heavy traffic on Friday afternoon, on major north-south routes on Saturday and towards Germany on Sunday afternoon and evening. Pressure is expected on routes including the A1 around St Pölten and Salzburg, the A10 Tauern motorway, the A12 and A13 in Tyrol and the B179 Fernpass road. Roadworks around St Pölten, Graz, the Pack tunnel section and the Lueg bridge are expected to add to delays. The FM4 Frequency Festival will also bring large crowds to St Pölten from Thursday to Saturday, with around 140,000 visitors expected. ÖAMTC recommends public transport where possible, with regular rail connections and shuttle buses from St Pölten station, as well as a special train to Wien Meidling after concerts. For members With the new school year approaching, families may be entitled to several forms of financial help. Our guide to financial support for school costs in Austria explains the €121.40 Schulstartgeld, the separate €150 Schulstartklar voucher for eligible lower-income households and subsidised school transport. Members can read the full guide for the eligibility rules, deadlines and application details. Membership also gives access to The Local Austria's other in-depth explainers and practical guides on family life, money and bureaucracy. What's happening in Austria today Statistics Austria is due to publish detailed preliminary July inflation figures at around 9 am. The earlier flash estimate put annual inflation at 2.7 percent, down from 3.2 percent in June. Vienna's major rail disruption continues. The planned S-Bahn closure between Floridsdorf and Praterstern remains in place, while the separate cable-fire disruption continues between Praterstern and Hauptbahnhof or Meidling. The U3 also remains closed between Hütteldorfer Straße and Westbahnhof during summer works. In Linz, tram lines 1 and 2 will be interrupted between Sonnensteinstraße and Universität from 9 pm until the end of service. LINZ AG says replacement buses will operate. It will be warm to hot across Austria, with afternoon highs of 26C to 32C. GeoSphere Austria forecasts more unsettled weather in western and northern parts of the country, with showers possible from the morning and thunderstorms becoming more frequent during the day. AMS Salzburg-Stadt will switch to appointment-only service from noon because of an event. Normal opening resumes at 7:30 am on Thursday. Vocabulary der Kollektivvertrag - collective agreement der Asylantrag - asylum application die Familienbeihilfe - Austria's family allowance If you have any questions about life in Austria, ideas for articles, or news tips for The Local, you can contact us at [email protected] or leave a comment below.

Italy's "ghost Residence" Scam grows to 150 victims. Published 18 August 2026 Last posts More than 150 travelers arrived in Cesenatico and Milano Marittima this summer only to find the seaside home they'd paid for didn't exist. What started as a single fake-residence scandal on Italy's Adriatic coast has now spread to a second fraudulent home, and on August 7, 2026, consumer group Codacons filed a formal complaint asking Italian prosecutors to examine whether Booking.com itself failed to properly vet the postings. - More than 150 tourists were affected by fake vacation homes in Cesenatico and Milano Marittima this summer. - A second fraudulent home, "Residence Ferrino," was uncovered in Milano Marittima in early August 2026. - Consumer group Codacons filed a complaint on August 7, 2026, asking prosecutors to examine Booking.com's own vetting responsibility. - Scammers redirected victims to pay by bank transfer or prepaid card, moving the transaction outside the platform's protections. How the ghost Residence scam worked. Fraudsters built professional-looking postings for two nonexistent homes, Residence Da Andrea in Cesenatico and Residence Ferrino in Milano Marittima, complete with photos, descriptions, and what appeared to be valid Italian national accommodation ID codes (CIN). Because the postings were new and had no reviews yet, they looked legitimate at a glance. Once a traveler expressed interest, scammers pushed the conversation off-platform and asked for payment by bank transfer or prepaid card, including Postepay Evolution, so the transaction fell outside any purchase protection. Travelers only discovered the homes didn't exist when they arrived at the address. A second fake home surfaces in Milano Marittima. The scam was first flagged in early August, when dozens of families found no trace of Residence Da Andrea in Cesenatico. Investigators then traced a similar pattern to Residence Ferrino in nearby Milano Marittima, confirming the fraud wasn't an isolated posting but a repeated operation. By August 5, 2026, more than 150 tourists had come forward, including a Belgian family of five who had arranged stays at both fake homes for the same trip. Cesenatico's municipality, tourist office, and Civil Protection service stepped in to house stranded travelers in hotels and mobile homes. Codacons turns the spotlight on Booking.com. On August 7, 2026, Codacons filed a complaint asking prosecutors to determine whether Booking.com bears responsibility for verifying its postings, given that the fake homes reportedly displayed accommodation ID codes that should have been checked against official records. No liability has been established, but the complaint pushes the investigation beyond the individual scammers to the platform that hosted the postings in the first place. Cesenatico's mayor has also raised questions about the adequacy of the platform's checks and said the town intends to pursue legal action over the damage to its reputation. A different model: exchanging homes with real members. Most travel sites let anyone publish a new page for a home they don't actually own, exactly the gap scammers exploited in Cesenatico and Milano Marittima. HomeExchange works differently: every stay happens directly between two members who each welcome the other into their own real, established home, verified through ID checks and years of activity within the community. It doesn't eliminate every risk, but it removes the incentive to invent a home that was never there. Experience the Authenticity of Italy with HomeExchange. With HomeExchange, you can live that rhythm like a local. Choose from a traditional house, a beachfront villa, or an urban apartment in the heart of a city. Each home offers a unique perspective. HomeExchange lets you experience true belonging while saving on accommodation costs. Immerse yourself in the local community and enjoy the comforts of a home away from home.