Side-by-side comparison

Melbourne vs Mornington Peninsula: which is better for Airbnb investment?

We compare the Australia short-term rental markets across occupancy, daily rate, RevPAR, year-over-year trend, and regulation.

Bottom line

Melbourne edges ahead of Mornington Peninsula on higher occupancy (16.4% vs 11.5%).

Head-to-head metrics

 MelbourneMornington Peninsula
Median occupancy16.4%11.5%
Median daily rate£138£260
Median RevPAR£24£34
Active listings15,5953,104
YoY occupancy-1.7 pts+0 pts
YoY daily rate—+46.3%
Regulation risk——
Annual night capNoneNone
License requiredNoNo

Full analysis: Melbourne vs Mornington Peninsula

Melbourne finishes narrowly ahead of Mornington Peninsula on our composite of occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk — and it is the calendar rather than the price tag doing the work. Melbourne's listings run at 16.4% occupancy against 11.5% in Mornington Peninsula, worth 4.9 extra points of booked calendar every year. Melbourne is the deeper market at 15,595 active listings against 3,104, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Mornington Peninsula would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Mornington Peninsula is the rate market: £260 a night against £138, some 88.1% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 11.5% occupancy. Melbourne is the volume market, filling 16.4% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £34 in Mornington Peninsula against £24. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Mornington Peninsula is not simply the weaker market of the two. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 43.8% higher in Mornington Peninsula: £34 against £24. Across a full year the median Mornington Peninsula listing grosses £12,466 against £8,675 in Melbourne. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Melbourne nor Mornington Peninsula 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. Melbourne peaks in September at 65.3% and bottoms in November at 47.5%; Mornington Peninsula runs from 49.6% in September down to 28.9% in February. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Melbourne 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 the contrarian side: buying it means buying a market that has cooled. Mornington Peninsula 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 15,595 active Melbourne listings and 3,104 in Mornington Peninsula.

Frequently asked questions

Is Melbourne or Mornington Peninsula better for Airbnb investment?
Melbourne, on the data we track. It leads on higher occupancy (16.4% vs 11.5%), a deeper market (15,595 vs 3,104 active listings), and a lower price point (£138 a night vs £260). Mornington Peninsula is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on stronger RevPAR (£34 vs £24).
Which has higher occupancy, Melbourne or Mornington Peninsula?
Melbourne, at 16.4% median occupancy against 11.5% in Mornington Peninsula — a gap of 4.9 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Mornington Peninsula can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Melbourne shed 1.7 points and Mornington Peninsula was flat, so the gap is closing.
Which has higher nightly rates, Melbourne or Mornington Peninsula?
Mornington Peninsula, at £260 a night against £138 in Melbourne — roughly 88.1% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £34 in Mornington Peninsula against £24, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.
Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Melbourne or Mornington Peninsula?
Mornington Peninsula, on occupancy: +0 points over the last twelve months against −1.7 points in Melbourne. 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, Melbourne or Mornington Peninsula?
Melbourne, with 15,595 active listings against 3,104 in Mornington Peninsula. 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 Melbourne vs Mornington Peninsula?
Mornington Peninsula earns more: roughly £12,466 a year for a median listing against £8,675 in Melbourne. 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 Melbourne →
Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation
Market guide
Airbnb in Mornington Peninsula →
Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation
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