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

Bottom line

Milan edges ahead of Puglia on higher occupancy (30% vs 18%), stronger RevPAR (£20 vs £5).

Head-to-head metrics

	Milan	Puglia
Median occupancy	30%	18%
Median daily rate	£103	£72
Median RevPAR	£20	£5
Active listings	16,143	23,576
YoY occupancy	+13.6 pts	+11.4 pts
YoY daily rate	-2.4%	+2.4%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Milan vs Puglia

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Milan finishes decisively ahead of Puglia. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 271% higher in Milan: £20 against £5. Milan sells 12 more points of its calendar — 30% median occupancy against 18% in Puglia. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

Milan takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £103 against £72 — and still fills more of the year, 30% against 18%. 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 £20 against £5.

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 — 8.3 points between its best and worst month against 36 in Milan — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. Puglia is the deeper market at 23,576 active listings against 16,143, 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 Milan 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. Milan peaks in September at 69.5% and bottoms in December at 33.5%; Puglia runs from 47.3% in August down to 39% in June. Puglia is the steadier of the two at 8.3 points peak-to-trough against 36 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Milan 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. Milan suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. It is also the momentum side of this pair. 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 2025-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 9,889 active Milan listings and 20,801 in Puglia.

Frequently asked questions

Is Milan or Puglia better for Airbnb investment?

Milan, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£20 vs £5), higher occupancy (30% vs 18%), and a higher nightly rate (£103 vs £72). Puglia is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a flatter season (8.3-point swing vs 36).

Which has higher occupancy, Milan or Puglia?

Milan, at 30% median occupancy against 18% in Puglia — a gap of 12 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 Milan gained 13.6 points and Puglia gained 11.4 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Milan or Puglia?

Milan, at £103 a night against £72 in Puglia — roughly 42.4% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £20 in Milan against £5, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

Milan, on occupancy: +13.6 points over the last twelve months against +11.4 points in Puglia. Nightly rates fell 2.4% in Milan and rose 2.4% 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, Milan or Puglia?

Puglia, with 23,576 active listings against 16,143 in Milan. 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 Milan vs Puglia?

Milan earns more: roughly £7,140 a year for a median listing against £1,913 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 Milan →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Puglia →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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