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

Bottom line

Ghent edges ahead of Antwerp on higher occupancy (27.9% vs 21.4%), stronger RevPAR (£38 vs £28).

Head-to-head metrics

	Antwerp	Ghent
Median occupancy	21.4%	27.9%
Median daily rate	£112	£122
Median RevPAR	£28	£38
Active listings	1,768	1,116
YoY occupancy	+0 pts	+1.6 pts
YoY daily rate	+44.5%	+43.6%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Antwerp vs Ghent

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Ghent finishes clearly ahead of Antwerp. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 34.8% higher in Ghent: £38 against £28. Ghent's listings run at 27.9% occupancy against 21.4% in Antwerp, worth 6.5 extra points of booked calendar every year. Those gaps are wide enough to survive a normal year's variance.

Ghent takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £122 against £112 — and still fills more of the year, 27.9% against 21.4%. A market that leads on price and utilisation at once is normally one where demand has outrun supply, rather than one where hosts are discounting to keep the calendar busy. RevPAR reflects the double advantage at £38 against £28.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Antwerp is not simply the weaker market of the two. Antwerp is the deeper market at 1,768 active listings against 1,116, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. Antwerp sits at the cheaper end at £112 a night against £122, which lowers the bar for filling shoulder-season dates and usually tracks a lower purchase price too. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

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 July at 53.3% and bottoms in January at 33.8%; Ghent runs from 63% in October down to 40.6% in February. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Antwerp suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Ghent answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2026-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 1,768 active Antwerp listings and 1,116 in Ghent.

Frequently asked questions

Is Antwerp or Ghent better for Airbnb investment?

Ghent, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£38 vs £28), higher occupancy (27.9% vs 21.4%), and higher median annual revenue (£13,725 vs £10,164). Antwerp is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a deeper market (1,768 vs 1,116 active listings).

Which has higher occupancy, Antwerp or Ghent?

Ghent, at 27.9% median occupancy against 21.4% in Antwerp — a gap of 6.5 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Antwerp can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Antwerp was flat and Ghent gained 1.6 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Antwerp or Ghent?

Ghent, at £122 a night against £112 in Antwerp — roughly 9.2% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £38 in Ghent against £28, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

Ghent, on occupancy: +1.6 points over the last twelve months against +0 points in Antwerp. Nightly rates rose 44.5% in Antwerp and rose 43.6% 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 1,768 active listings against 1,116 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 £13,725 a year for a median listing against £10,164 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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