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

Bottom line

Madrid edges ahead of Menorca on higher occupancy (37.8% vs 11.5%), stronger RevPAR (£46 vs £20).

Head-to-head metrics

	Madrid	Menorca
Median occupancy	37.8%	11.5%
Median daily rate	£133	£152
Median RevPAR	£46	£20
Active listings	16,115	2,875
YoY occupancy	+6.6 pts	+0 pts
YoY daily rate	+40.5%	+28.3%
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 decisively ahead of Menorca. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 129% higher in Madrid: £46 against £20. Madrid sells 26.3 more points of its calendar — 37.8% median occupancy against 11.5% in Menorca. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

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: £152 a night against £133, some 14.3% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 11.5% occupancy. Madrid is the volume market, filling 37.8% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £46 in Madrid against £20. 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's calendar is the flatter of the two — 16.9 points between its best and worst month against 32.4 in Madrid — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. Menorca is the less crowded of the two — 2,875 active listings to 16,115 — so a well-run property has fewer near-identical rivals to out-rank. If your model leans on that dimension, 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 October at 69.5% and bottoms in February at 37.1%; Menorca runs from 67.5% in January down to 50.6% in October. Menorca is the steadier of the two at 16.9 points peak-to-trough against 32.4 — 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. It is also the momentum side of this pair. 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 2026-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 16,115 active Madrid listings and 2,875 in Menorca.

Frequently asked questions

Is Madrid or Menorca better for Airbnb investment?

Madrid, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£46 vs £20), higher occupancy (37.8% vs 11.5%), and higher median annual revenue (£16,897 vs £7,390). Menorca is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a flatter season (16.9-point swing vs 32.4).

Which has higher occupancy, Madrid or Menorca?

Madrid, at 37.8% median occupancy against 11.5% in Menorca — a gap of 26.3 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 Madrid gained 6.6 points and Menorca was flat, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Madrid or Menorca?

Menorca, at £152 a night against £133 in Madrid — roughly 14.3% 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 £46 against £20, so Madrid's cheaper nights are more than repaid by how often they fill.

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

Madrid, on occupancy: +6.6 points over the last twelve months against +0 points in Menorca. Nightly rates rose 40.5% in Madrid and rose 28.3% in Menorca 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, Madrid or Menorca?

Madrid, with 16,115 active listings against 2,875 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 £16,897 a year for a median listing against £7,390 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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