In the Tuscan seaside town of Forte dei Marmi, a local hotel has banned guests from taking selfies.
The Hotel Byron, a five-star hotel, recently put in place restrictions for cell phone use on the hotel premises, the first of its kind in Italy. Selfie sticks must be left at reception for the duration of guests’ stay, phones are to be turned off completely in the restaurant and left on silent while in common areas, and ringers must be turned down at the pool area.
The hotel even plans on hiring a “selfie-guard” to watch for rule breakers and enforce the new, anti-selfie directive. The rules are to be implemented at least until the end of summer.
The Byron is a destination for A-list celebrities, frequented by the likes of Naomi Campbell, Daniel Craig and Donatella Versace. The selfie ban was brought up in order to protect the privacy of the hotel’s more famous clientele, but it is not the only reason behind it. “There are already numerous locations, both foreign and Italian, that ban the use of cell phones,” explained Salvatore Madonna, owner of the Byron. “In Italy, selfies are banned in the halls of the Uffizi and the Coliseum and many other museums, why not also ban them in a hotel?”
Selfies have also been banned at the National Gallery in London and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Madonna continued, “We need to return to enjoying the simplicity and the beauty that surrounds us instead of every time wanting to overdo it.”
