Florence vs Puglia: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Florence edges ahead of Puglia on higher occupancy (26.3% vs 6.6%), stronger RevPAR (£45 vs £8).

Head-to-head metrics

	Florence	Puglia
Median occupancy	26.3%	6.6%
Median daily rate	£166	£100
Median RevPAR	£45	£8
Active listings	10,534	24,702
YoY occupancy	+0 pts	+0 pts
YoY daily rate	+42.3%	+38.2%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Florence vs Puglia

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Florence finishes decisively ahead of Puglia. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 475.1% higher in Florence: £45 against £8. Florence sells 19.7 more points of its calendar — 26.3% median occupancy against 6.6% in Puglia. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

Florence takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £166 against £100 — and still fills more of the year, 26.3% against 6.6%. 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 £45 against £8.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Puglia is not simply the weaker market of the two. Puglia's calendar is the flatter of the two — 10 points between its best and worst month against 34.3 in Florence — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. Puglia is the deeper market at 24,702 active listings against 10,534, 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 Florence nor Puglia 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. Florence peaks in October at 64.8% and bottoms in December at 30.5%; Puglia runs from 49.3% in August down to 39.3% in November. Puglia is the steadier of the two at 10 points peak-to-trough against 34.3 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Florence 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. Florence suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Puglia 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 10,534 active Florence listings and 24,702 in Puglia.

Frequently asked questions

Is Florence or Puglia better for Airbnb investment?

Florence, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£45 vs £8), higher occupancy (26.3% vs 6.6%), and a higher nightly rate (£166 vs £100). Puglia is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a flatter season (10-point swing vs 34.3).

Which has higher occupancy, Florence or Puglia?

Florence, at 26.3% median occupancy against 6.6% in Puglia — a gap of 19.7 points. That is a wide spread by short-term rental standards and usually reflects a structural demand difference rather than better hosting. Over the last twelve months Florence was flat and Puglia was flat, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Florence or Puglia?

Florence, at £166 a night against £100 in Puglia — roughly 65.9% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £45 in Florence against £8, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Florence or Puglia?

Florence, on occupancy: +0 points over the last twelve months against +0 points in Puglia. Nightly rates rose 42.3% in Florence and rose 38.2% in Puglia 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, Florence or Puglia?

Puglia, with 24,702 active listings against 10,534 in Florence. 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 Florence vs Puglia?

Florence earns more: roughly £16,422 a year for a median listing against £2,841 in Puglia. 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 Florence →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Puglia →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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