Madrid vs Menorca: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Madrid edges ahead of Menorca on higher occupancy (36% vs 30%), stronger RevPAR (£27 vs £16).

Head-to-head metrics

	Madrid	Menorca
Median occupancy	36%	30%
Median daily rate	£94	£118
Median RevPAR	£27	£16
Active listings	16,015	2,804
YoY occupancy	—	+16.8 pts
YoY daily rate	—	+10.3%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Madrid vs Menorca

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Madrid finishes clearly ahead of Menorca. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 72.6% higher in Madrid: £27 against £16. Madrid's listings run at 36% occupancy against 30% in Menorca, worth 6 extra points of booked calendar every year. Those gaps are wide enough to survive a normal year's variance.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Menorca is the rate market: £118 a night against £94, some 25.2% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 30% occupancy. Madrid is the volume market, filling 36% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £27 in Madrid against £16. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Menorca is not simply the weaker market of the two. Menorca commands 25.2% more per night, £118 against £94. Menorca's calendar is the flatter of the two — 18.5 points between its best and worst month against 25.8 in Madrid — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. If your model leans on nightly rate rather than volume, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Madrid nor Menorca 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. Madrid peaks in September at 71.3% and bottoms in February at 45.5%; Menorca runs from 65.9% in January down to 47.4% in May. Menorca is the steadier of the two at 18.5 points peak-to-trough against 25.8 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Madrid 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. Madrid suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. Menorca answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. 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 7,469 active Madrid listings and 2,310 in Menorca.

Frequently asked questions

Is Madrid or Menorca better for Airbnb investment?

Madrid, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£27 vs £16), higher occupancy (36% vs 30%), and higher median annual revenue (£9,792 vs £5,676). Menorca is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a higher nightly rate (£118 vs £94).

Which has higher occupancy, Madrid or Menorca?

Madrid, at 36% median occupancy against 30% in Menorca — a gap of 6 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Menorca can close most of it.

Which has higher nightly rates, Madrid or Menorca?

Menorca, at £118 a night against £94 in Madrid — roughly 25.2% more. The nightly rate is not the whole story, though. On revenue per available night — rate multiplied by how often the room actually sells — Madrid comes out ahead at £27 against £16, so Madrid's cheaper nights are more than repaid by how often they fill.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Madrid or Menorca?

We can only measure one side, so this comparison stays open. Menorca moved +16.8 points on occupancy year over year. Madrid lacks a comparable snapshot from roughly twelve months earlier, and we would rather leave the cell empty than compare against a mismatched date.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Madrid or Menorca?

Madrid, with 16,015 active listings against 2,804 in Menorca. 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 Madrid vs Menorca?

Madrid earns more: roughly £9,792 a year for a median listing against £5,676 in Menorca. 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 Madrid →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Menorca →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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