Cambridge vs Columbus: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Cambridge edges ahead of Columbus on stronger RevPAR (£46 vs £28).

Head-to-head metrics

	Cambridge	Columbus
Median occupancy	54%	54%
Median daily rate	£130	£88
Median RevPAR	£46	£28
Active listings	813	2,366
YoY occupancy	+4.7 pts	+19.5 pts
YoY daily rate	+0%	-1.8%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Cambridge vs Columbus

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Cambridge finishes narrowly ahead of Columbus. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 61.5% higher in Cambridge: £46 against £28. Cambridge commands 48.6% more per night, £130 against £88. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Columbus would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

Cambridge takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £130 against £88 — and still fills more of the year, 54% against 54%. 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 £46 against £28.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Columbus is not simply the weaker market of the two. The twelve-month direction favours Columbus too: occupancy there moved +19.5 points while Cambridge moved +4.7 points. Columbus is the deeper market at 2,366 active listings against 813, 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 Cambridge nor Columbus 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. Cambridge peaks in October at 76.5% and bottoms in February at 39%; Columbus runs from 49.9% in September down to 22.7% in February. Columbus is the steadier of the two at 27.2 points peak-to-trough against 37.5 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Cambridge 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. Cambridge 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. Columbus 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. It is also the momentum side of this pair. 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 305 active Cambridge listings and 1,065 in Columbus.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cambridge or Columbus better for Airbnb investment?

Cambridge, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£46 vs £28), a higher nightly rate (£130 vs £88), and higher median annual revenue (£16,680 vs £10,324). Columbus is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on the better occupancy trend (+19.5 points vs +4.7 points year over year).

Which has higher occupancy, Cambridge or Columbus?

Effectively neither — they are level. Cambridge sits at 54% and Columbus at 54%, a 0-point difference that is inside the noise of a median drawn from a listings snapshot. Over the last twelve months Cambridge gained 4.7 points and Columbus gained 19.5 points, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Cambridge or Columbus?

Cambridge, at £130 a night against £88 in Columbus — roughly 48.6% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £46 in Cambridge against £28, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Cambridge or Columbus?

Columbus, on occupancy: +19.5 points over the last twelve months against +4.7 points in Cambridge. Nightly rates held flat in Cambridge and fell 1.8% in Columbus 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, Cambridge or Columbus?

Columbus, with 2,366 active listings against 813 in Cambridge. 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 Cambridge vs Columbus?

Cambridge earns more: roughly £16,680 a year for a median listing against £10,324 in Columbus. 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 Cambridge →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Columbus →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Ready to buy?

Get a full investment report on either city

Property-level financials, stress tests, and an AI verdict — £19 each.

Cambridge report →Columbus report →

From the same team

Already hosting? Meet HostPal

An AI concierge that answers your guests on WhatsApp 24/7 — in 50+ languages, from your own guidebook and house rules. Emergencies get escalated to you; the WiFi password doesn't. Live in under 10 minutes.

Try HostPal free for 7 days →