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

Bottom line

Venice edges ahead of Puglia on higher occupancy (26.3% vs 6.6%), stronger RevPAR (£49 vs £8).

Head-to-head metrics

	Puglia	Venice
Median occupancy	6.6%	26.3%
Median daily rate	£100	£194
Median RevPAR	£8	£49
Active listings	24,702	7,243
YoY occupancy	+0 pts	+0 pts
YoY daily rate	+38.2%	+47.6%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Puglia vs Venice

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Venice finishes decisively ahead of Puglia. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 526.1% higher in Venice: £49 against £8. Venice sells 19.7 more points of its calendar — 26.3% median occupancy against 6.6% in Puglia. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

Venice takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £194 against £100 — and still fills more of the year, 26.3% against 6.6%. 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 £49 against £8.

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 — 10 points between its best and worst month against 39.5 in Venice — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. Puglia is the deeper market at 24,702 active listings against 7,243, 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 Puglia nor Venice 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. Puglia peaks in August at 49.3% and bottoms in November at 39.3%; Venice runs from 68.6% in October down to 29.1% in December. Puglia is the steadier of the two at 10 points peak-to-trough against 39.5 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Venice 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. Puglia suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Venice 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 24,702 active Puglia listings and 7,243 in Venice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Puglia or Venice better for Airbnb investment?

Venice, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£49 vs £8), higher occupancy (26.3% vs 6.6%), and a higher nightly rate (£194 vs £100). Puglia is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a flatter season (10-point swing vs 39.5).

Which has higher occupancy, Puglia or Venice?

Venice, at 26.3% median occupancy against 6.6% in Puglia — a gap of 19.7 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 Puglia was flat and Venice was flat, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Puglia or Venice?

Venice, at £194 a night against £100 in Puglia — roughly 94% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £49 in Venice against £8, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

Puglia, on occupancy: +0 points over the last twelve months against +0 points in Venice. Nightly rates rose 38.2% in Puglia and rose 47.6% in Venice 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, Puglia or Venice?

Puglia, with 24,702 active listings against 7,243 in Venice. 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 Puglia vs Venice?

Venice earns more: roughly £17,881 a year for a median listing against £2,841 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 Puglia →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Venice →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Ready to buy?

Get a full investment report on either city

Property-level financials, stress tests, and an AI verdict — £19 each.

Puglia report →Venice report →

From the same team

Already hosting? Meet HostPal

An AI concierge that answers your guests on WhatsApp 24/7 — in 50+ languages, from your own guidebook and house rules. Emergencies get escalated to you; the WiFi password doesn't. Live in under 10 minutes.

Try HostPal free for 7 days →