Airbnb promotion will let users play gladiator in Rome's Colosseum

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A general view of the Colosseum, one of the landmarks of Rome and hosting millions of local and foreign tourists every year, in Rome, Italy on October 24, 2024. (Photo by Osmancan Gurdogan/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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A new deal between Airbnb and the Roman Colosseum will let eight people and their plus-ones participate in faux gladiator fights at the ancient amphitheater.

Under a sponsorship announced by Airbnb and the Colosseum on Wednesday, the $1.5 million deal will allow Airbnb to host two, three-hour gladiator experiences after the Colosseum's closing time on May 7-8, taking the same underground route used by gladiators in ancient Rome to reach the arena. People can apply for the experience on Nov. 27 at no cost, and the "gladiators" will be chosen by lottery. Eight people and their plus-ones (16 total) will be chosen for each night.

The gladiator experiences are free, but guests will have to cover their travel to Italy.

The Colosseum is the most important and largest amphitheater constructed by the ancient Romans. Built in the 1st century, it was the center of popular entertainment, hosting hunts and gladiator games, until the 6th century.

The promotion is tied to the release of Ridley Scott's new film "Gladiators II," which opened in Italy on Thursday.

Park officials said the deal will fund the renewal of an educational program inside the Colosseum covering the history of the structure and gladiators. But Colosseum visitors and housing activists were skeptical.

Alberto Campailla, the coordinator of the Nonna Roma nonprofit organization that focuses on housing and food for the poor, called the campaign with Airbnb "a disgrace," and a form of "touristification."

Airbnb and other platforms offering short-term rentals "are literally driving people out of not only the city center, but also the outskirts and suburban neighborhoods," Campailla said.

Tourists from other European cities grappling with overtourism also took issue with the deal.

"It seems to me that the purpose of the Colosseum today is to be a tourist attraction, but not to create an amusement park within it," said Jaime Montero, a tourist visiting from Madrid. "In the end, tourism eats the essence of the cities, here in Rome, as in other capitals."

Park officials said the new sponsorship is one of many deals in place to help finance projects at the Colosseum.

The Italian fashion brand Tod's, for example, has funded a multimillion-dollar renovation of the Roman monument, including a cleaning, replacing the locking system of arches with new gates and redoing the subterranean areas.