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

Bottom line

Rome edges ahead of Bologna on stronger RevPAR (£25 vs £25).

Head-to-head metrics

	Bologna	Rome
Median occupancy	30%	30%
Median daily rate	£125	£110
Median RevPAR	£25	£25
Active listings	3,544	27,668
YoY occupancy	+10.3 pts	+5.3 pts
YoY daily rate	+15.7%	-7.9%
Regulation risk	—	medium
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Bologna vs Rome

Scored on median occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk together, Rome finishes clearly ahead of Bologna. Rome is the deeper market at 27,668 active listings against 3,544, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. Rome's calendar is the flatter of the two — 34.7 points between its best and worst month against 39.8 in Bologna — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. 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 — £125 against £110 — and still fills more of the year, 30% against 30%. 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 £25 against £25.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Bologna is not simply the weaker market of the two. Nightly rates are also climbing faster in Bologna, +15.7% over the last year against −7.9% in Rome. The twelve-month direction favours Bologna too: occupancy there moved +10.3 points while Rome moved +5.3 points. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

We hold a verified regulation record for only one side of this pairing. Rome applies no annual night cap and requires registration but no licence, on a medium risk rating. Bologna should be read as unverified rather than unregulated: check the local authority's own register before you underwrite anything there.

The two calendars also behave differently. Bologna peaks in September at 72.3% and bottoms in December at 32.5%; Rome runs from 62.9% in September down to 28.2% in December. Rome is the steadier of the two at 34.7 points peak-to-trough against 39.8 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Bologna 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. Bologna suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Rome answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. 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 2,043 active Bologna listings and 15,125 in Rome.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bologna or Rome better for Airbnb investment?

Rome, on the data we track. It leads on a deeper market (27,668 vs 3,544 active listings), a flatter season (34.7-point swing vs 39.8), and a lower price point (£110 a night vs £125). Bologna is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on faster rate growth (+15.7% vs −7.9% year over year).

Which has higher occupancy, Bologna or Rome?

Effectively neither — they are level. Bologna sits at 30% and Rome at 30%, a 0-point difference that is inside the noise of a median drawn from a listings snapshot. Over the last twelve months Bologna gained 10.3 points and Rome gained 5.3 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Bologna or Rome?

Bologna, at £125 a night against £110 in Rome — roughly 14% more. The nightly rate is not the whole story, though. On revenue per available night — rate multiplied by how often the room actually sells — Rome comes out ahead at £25 against £25, so Rome's cheaper nights are more than repaid by how often they fill.

Is Bologna or Rome riskier for Airbnb regulation?

We hold a verified regulation record for Rome only, so we will not rank the two. Rome applies no annual night cap and requires registration but no licence, and it is rated medium risk. Treat Bologna as unverified rather than unregulated, and check the local authority directly before committing.

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

Bologna, on occupancy: +10.3 points over the last twelve months against +5.3 points in Rome. Nightly rates rose 15.7% in Bologna and fell 7.9% in Rome 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 Rome?

Rome, with 27,668 active listings against 3,544 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.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide

Airbnb in Bologna →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Rome →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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