Antwerp vs Ghent: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Antwerp and Ghent score similarly on the metrics that matter most for short-term rental returns. The right pick depends on whether you optimise for yield (lower regulation risk, higher RevPAR) or capital growth.

Head-to-head metrics

	Antwerp	Ghent
Median occupancy	36%	36%
Median daily rate	£77	£85
Median RevPAR	£18	£24
Active listings	1,831	1,127
YoY occupancy	+13 pts	+9.7 pts
YoY daily rate	+4.6%	+0%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Antwerp vs Ghent

There is no clean winner between Antwerp and Ghent. Antwerp posts 36% occupancy and £18 RevPAR; Ghent posts 36% occupancy and £24 RevPAR. Weighted together with regulation risk the two finish inside the margin we are willing to call, which is the honest answer rather than an evasive one — a scoring gap this small would flip on the next data refresh. When markets are this close the decision stops being about the market and starts being about the deal: what you pay, what it costs to run, and how quickly you could exit.

On the mechanics of the yield the two are hard to separate. Antwerp runs 36% occupancy at £77 a night; Ghent runs 36% at £85. That leaves RevPAR almost level too — £24 against £18 — so operating quality, not market selection, is what will decide your return between these two.

A tie does not mean the two are interchangeable — it means each holds something the other does not. Antwerp is the deeper market at 1,831 active listings against 1,127, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. Across a full year the median Ghent listing grosses £8,775 against £6,426 in Antwerp. Pick the one whose advantage matches how you intend to operate, because the composite score will not do that job for you.

Neither Antwerp nor Ghent currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Antwerp peaks in October at 60.7% and bottoms in February at 38.3%; Ghent runs from 65.7% in October down to 39.9% in February. Antwerp is the steadier of the two at 22.4 points peak-to-trough against 25.8 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Ghent concentrates its return into a shorter window and rewards operators who price the peak aggressively instead of holding a flat rate all year.

Who each suits, then. Antwerp suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Ghent answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2025-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 1,049 active Antwerp listings and 579 in Ghent.

Frequently asked questions

Is Antwerp or Ghent better for Airbnb investment?

Neither pulls clearly ahead. Antwerp runs 36% occupancy and £77 a night; Ghent runs 36% occupancy and £85 a night. Once occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk are weighted together the two finish within a couple of points of each other, so the decision turns on purchase price, how far you are willing to travel, and which rulebook you would rather work under.

Which has higher occupancy, Antwerp or Ghent?

Effectively neither — they are level. Antwerp sits at 36% and Ghent at 36%, a 0-point difference that is inside the noise of a median drawn from a listings snapshot. Over the last twelve months Antwerp gained 13 points and Ghent gained 9.7 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Antwerp or Ghent?

Ghent, at £85 a night against £77 in Antwerp — roughly 9.9% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £24 in Ghent against £18, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Antwerp or Ghent?

Antwerp, on occupancy: +13 points over the last twelve months against +9.7 points in Ghent. Nightly rates rose 4.6% in Antwerp and held flat in Ghent over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Antwerp or Ghent?

Antwerp, with 1,831 active listings against 1,127 in Ghent. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.

How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Antwerp vs Ghent?

Ghent earns more: roughly £8,775 a year for a median listing against £6,426 in Antwerp. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Antwerp →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Ghent →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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