Airbnb plans to host an immersive ‘Gladiator’ experience at the Colosseum, and politicians in Rome are furious

Next spring, tour company Airbnb will welcome 32 lucky people to the Colosseum – the ancient Roman amphitheater where enslaved warriors once fought to the death – where they will don appropriate armor, eat a gladiatorial meal and ultimately “decide their fate in battle.” Italian politicians are furious.

Airbnb announced details of its planned “gladiator experience” last week, in light of the November 22 release of the Ridley Scott film Gladiator II. If CNNAccording to Barbie Latza Nadeau, the company struck a $1.5 million deal with the Colosseum Archaeological Parkwhich takes care of the almost 2000 year old monument. According to one statementAirbnb will accept requests to book the free experience and then select two groups of eight guests, each of whom will receive a plus-one. And on May 7 and 8, 2025, Airbnb is bringing them to the Colosseum for immersive tours, food and supervised sparring.

“The news of a gladiatorial show at the Colosseum leaves us perplexed to say the least,” says former member of the European Parliament Massimiliano Smeriglio in a translated Instagram post, per USA today‘s Greta Kruis. Smeriglio asked the CEO of Airbnb and Rome Supervision of cultural heritage to cancel the experience. He says: “We can’t turn one of the most important monuments in the world into a theme park.”

Other Roman politicians have responded similarly. Enzo Foschi, secretary of the local Democratic Party in Rome, says Airbnb wants to “make fun of the Colosseum” with this “publicity stunt,” according to CNN. “We’re not at Disneyland,” he adds. “We are in Rome.”

The Colosseum, also called the Flavian amphitheaterfor the emperors whoever commissioned it – was finished in 80 CE. The highest walls of the now ruined amphitheater are four stories high and in its heyday it could seat some 50,000 spectators. For hundreds of years, violent games often took place in the Colosseum: animal hunts, mock sea battles and battles between gladiators– captured slaves and criminals forced to fight and die for the amusement of the ancient Romans.

“For what it represents, the Colosseum is one World Heritage” said Erica Battaglia, president of Rome’s Cultural Commission, in a statement, per CNN. It’s important, she says, “to protect it, but also to make it accessible to everyone and to prevent it from becoming a joke for a select group of people.”

Airbnb’s announcement echoes famous lines from Scott’s 2000 film Gladiatorwhich followed the character Maximus, a Roman general turned slave and made to fight in the Colosseum. “This trial will separate the weak from the strong, where only those with the truth sit power and honor will rise above,” writes the travel organization. ‘Put on your suit and prepare for battle what we do in life echoes into eternity.”

In exchange for the use of the Colosseum, Airbnb will help finance the archaeological park’s educational program, travel journalist Lacey Pfalz reports in a opinion column for TravelPulse. But the costs outweigh the benefits, she writes, citing the negative impact of overtourism and short-term vacation rentals, such as Airbnbs, on Rome’s housing market.

“I’m happy that Airbnb is helping to fund some of the Colosseum’s educational programs, but in return it gets this gladiator experience,” says Pfalz USA today. “Given that this is not an experience that everyone who visits the Colosseum can experience for themselves, and the monument is not in any danger of attracting too few visitors, it appears that Airbnb is the main entity that could benefit from this.”