Short-term rentals, the greatest growth in Rome among the large European cities: +37% in one year

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Tourism has started to return to levels that by 2024 will exceed the numbers of 2019, the last year before the break introduced by the global Covid pandemic. Among the many indicators that confirm the recovery of the sector is that of short-term rentals: according to the numbers released by Eurostat (the statistics office of the European Commission) all the large cities on the continent saw an increase of around a third of the number of nights booked on the four main platforms (Airbnb, Booking.com, Tripadvisor and Expedia Group).

Rome’s leap, the Paris case

Above all, however, it stands out Roma: the Italian capital recorded a jump in 37,3%a record that takes the city from fourth to second place (note, however, that the numbers are not yet available Barcelona which in 2022 occupied third position). In the City the number of nights for short-term rentals went from 8,574 in 2022 to 11.768 million in 2023. A number lower only than that recorded by Paris: the city that is preparing to host the Olympics (from 26 July to 11 August) totals 18.613 million nights (+33% on 2022). He is on the podium in third place Lisbon which, together with the French and Italian capitals, exceeded the threshold of ten million nights (10,196) but with a more moderate surge (+15.3%). Also noteworthy are the leaps forward in Madrid (+28%, fourth but just under 10 million) and Budapest (+24.3% to 6.22 million).

Comparison with 2019

A look at the past confirms the recovery of the health of the sector observed from this perspective. To strike in particular Paris which not only recovered the 2019 numbers but marked the record since the existence of this survey which Eurostat defines as “experimental” (it is in fact based on an agreement that the four platforms have entered into with the European Commission to transmit data anonymously and not disaggregable). This is also a record number for Rome: the previous one in 2019 was in fact 10.13 million.

Medium-term rentals: record in Rome

Numbers which for Rome might increase further considering the great Jubilee event of 2025 for which the overtourism alarm has already been triggered: in the city, Isnart estimated, a doubling of flows is expected with 35 million tourist arrivals and 105 million presences . An “assault” that risks having repercussions on the housing supply in the capital. Rome is already “queen” in Italy for apartment rental prices and is second following Amsterdam in Europe with an average rent of 2 thousand euros (the Dutch capital is also the most expensive for rooms and studios).

He detected it HousingAnywhere, a European platform for medium-term rentals (from 3 to 12 months), which has updated its report on rental price trends in the 28 major European cities with a total of more than 65 thousand rooms. The research shows an annual increase of 3,8% in the first quarter of 2024, two points less than the 5.8% annual increase at the end of 2023. Among Italian cities Milano it is eighth with 1,700 euros, while Turin is growing (+37.5%) but remains among the most accessible centres. Rome occupies ninth position for studio apartments (average rent of 1,200 euros, +20% per year) but in Italy Bolognaa university city, remains the most expensive for this category (1,375 euros, +25%).