Rome and Venice empty because of Airbnb? Data from Sapienza.

A study by La Sapienza University inRome, published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism and cited by the British newspaper The Times, found that 70-90% of the desolation of central areas of Italian cities such asRome and Venice is due to the conversion of residential apartments into short-term rentals. The study found that 29% of apartments in the historic center of Florence are rented through the Airbnb platform. In Bologna the figure is 32%, in Palermo 25% and inRome 17%. Especially inRome, there were 26,000 listings on Airbnb.

The government is trying to limit short-term rentals in Italian tourist cities, but is facing resistance from Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini. As part of the government's strategy, two measures have been proposed that could revolutionize the market: a two-night minimum stay and a national identification code (Cin).

Short-term rentals are becoming increasingly popular, as confirmed by Eurostat data: in Italy, 73% more places and 70% more nights are booked in 2023 than in 2022. More than 38 million nights were booked through online platforms in Italy during last summer season, 6.7% more than in 2019 (before the pandemic). This is the third highest in the European Union after France (more than 58 million) and Spain (about 45 million).

There are controversial statistics, however, indicating that only about 38% of Airbnb listings in Bologna and 43% in Florence actually get bookings. Many families use their residential apartments to earn extra income during periods of maximum tourist influx. Overall, however, short-term rentals account for about 0.8% inRome, 0.8% inMilan, 0.7% in Bologna, 2.9% in Florence and 2.8% in Venice, which is insignificant compared to the total number of available residential units (Istat data).

In any case, the continued growth of the short-term rental market is leading to a shortage of long-term rentals, resulting in rising rental prices. While Matteo Salvini defends the right of owners to freely dispose of their property without considering government intervention necessary, it is still recognized that short-term rentals have a significant impact on the affordability of housing for long-term rentals.