Bologna vs Naples: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Bologna edges ahead of Naples on higher occupancy (19.7% vs 16.4%), stronger RevPAR (£32 vs £16).

Head-to-head metrics

	Bologna	Naples
Median occupancy	19.7%	16.4%
Median daily rate	£150	£94
Median RevPAR	£32	£16
Active listings	3,882	7,041
YoY occupancy	+0 pts	+0 pts
YoY daily rate	+20.4%	+35.8%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Bologna vs Naples

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Bologna finishes clearly ahead of Naples. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 101.6% higher in Bologna: £32 against £16. Bologna commands 60.9% more per night, £150 against £94. Those gaps are wide enough to survive a normal year's variance.

Bologna takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £150 against £94 — and still fills more of the year, 19.7% against 16.4%. 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 £32 against £16.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Naples is not simply the weaker market of the two. Nightly rates are also climbing faster in Naples, +35.8% over the last year against +20.4% in Bologna. Naples is the deeper market at 7,041 active listings against 3,882, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Bologna nor Naples 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. Bologna peaks in September at 70.8% and bottoms in December at 32.8%; Naples runs from 54% in September down to 17.2% in November. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Bologna suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Naples answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. 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 3,882 active Bologna listings and 7,041 in Naples.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bologna or Naples better for Airbnb investment?

Bologna, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£32 vs £16), a higher nightly rate (£150 vs £94), and higher median annual revenue (£11,623 vs £5,783). Naples is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on faster rate growth (+35.8% vs +20.4% year over year).

Which has higher occupancy, Bologna or Naples?

Bologna, at 19.7% median occupancy against 16.4% in Naples — a gap of 3.3 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Naples can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Bologna was flat and Naples was flat, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Bologna or Naples?

Bologna, at £150 a night against £94 in Naples — roughly 60.9% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £32 in Bologna against £16, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Bologna or Naples?

Bologna, on occupancy: +0 points over the last twelve months against +0 points in Naples. Nightly rates rose 20.4% in Bologna and rose 35.8% in Naples 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, Bologna or Naples?

Naples, with 7,041 active listings against 3,882 in Bologna. 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 Bologna vs Naples?

Bologna earns more: roughly £11,623 a year for a median listing against £5,783 in Naples. 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 Bologna →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Naples →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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