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

Bottom line

Florence edges ahead of Sicily on higher occupancy (26.3% vs 8.2%), stronger RevPAR (£45 vs £10).

Head-to-head metrics

	Florence	Sicily
Median occupancy	26.3%	8.2%
Median daily rate	£166	£97
Median RevPAR	£45	£10
Active listings	10,534	30,526
YoY occupancy	+0 pts	+0 pts
YoY daily rate	+42.3%	+41.4%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Florence vs Sicily

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Florence finishes decisively ahead of Sicily. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 359.8% higher in Florence: £45 against £10. Florence sells 18.1 more points of its calendar — 26.3% median occupancy against 8.2% in Sicily. 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 £97 — and still fills more of the year, 26.3% against 8.2%. 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 £10.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Sicily is not simply the weaker market of the two. Sicily's calendar is the flatter of the two — 14.6 points between its best and worst month against 34.3 in Florence — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. Sicily is the deeper market at 30,526 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 Sicily 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%; Sicily runs from 43.5% in September down to 28.9% in November. Sicily is the steadier of the two at 14.6 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. Sicily 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 30,526 in Sicily.

Frequently asked questions

Is Florence or Sicily better for Airbnb investment?

Florence, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£45 vs £10), higher occupancy (26.3% vs 8.2%), and a higher nightly rate (£166 vs £97). Sicily is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a flatter season (14.6-point swing vs 34.3).

Which has higher occupancy, Florence or Sicily?

Florence, at 26.3% median occupancy against 8.2% in Sicily — a gap of 18.1 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 Sicily was flat, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Florence or Sicily?

Florence, at £166 a night against £97 in Sicily — roughly 70.3% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £45 in Florence against £10, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

Florence, on occupancy: +0 points over the last twelve months against +0 points in Sicily. Nightly rates rose 42.3% in Florence and rose 41.4% in Sicily 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 Sicily?

Sicily, with 30,526 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 Sicily?

Florence earns more: roughly £16,422 a year for a median listing against £3,580 in Sicily. 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 Sicily →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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