The real figures of 14 properties we manage, from October 2025 to September 2026, taken from our property management system. Anonymous and aggregated, with the method explained line by line: what a flat brings in, what the owner keeps and how it compares with a standard 4+4 lease.
«Quanto convengono gli affitti brevi? Il caso di Bologna» (Are short lets worth it? The Bologna case)
The figures on this page were reported by Corriere di Bologna in Ludovica Brognoli’s article on whether short lets pay off in the city.
Read the article in Corriere di Bologna (Italian)These are the flats under full management since before October 2025, so with a full year of data. Over twelve months each one took between €33,800 and €78,700 gross, cleaning included. The flat in the middle of the ranking (the median) took €40,100.
Average occupancy was 87%, at an average rate of €138 a night. The platforms kept 18.8% of gross; cleaning fees paid by guests were 9% of it.
Monthly average across the six flats, gross with cleaning; occupancy under each month. Bologna works all year round thanks to trade fairs, conferences, the university and the hospitals: the strongest months are March, April, May, June, September and October. January and February are the weakest; July and August stay full but at lower rates.
Four flats taken on in December 2025. From January to September 2026 each took between €21,300 and €47,700 gross (median €31,000), with average occupancy of 87%. These are first-months figures, with few reviews behind them: this is where new properties start.
Opened in October 2025. In its first twelve months the four rooms took €109,900 gross in total. From January to September 2026 each room took between €19,700 and €25,600, with average occupancy of 82% and an average rate of €93 a night.
The median flat, with the group’s real percentages. Private owner on the 21% flat tax (cedolare secca); Do.Ma fee at 28% as an example (the actual percentage is set after the site visit).
According to Immobiliare.it, in September 2026 asking rents in Bologna averaged €16.51 per m² a month, and €18.12 per m² in the city centre (asking prices in listings). The table uses the city-centre figure, the higher one, with the 21% flat tax on an open-market lease.
| Size | Annual 4+4 rent, city centre | Net after 21% flat tax |
|---|---|---|
| 50 m² | €10,872 | €8,589 |
| 60 m² | €13,046 | €10,307 |
| 70 m² | €15,221 | €12,024 |
| 80 m² | €17,395 | €13,742 |
| Short let, median flat | €13,143 |
On these figures, the net of the median short-let flat (€13,143) matches the net of a city-centre 4+4 lease on about 77 m². Below that size the short let earns more; above it the gap narrows, and the costs the owner keeps on a short let have to come off. In exchange, a 4+4 ties up the property for at least eight years and carries the risk of unpaid rent; with a short let the home stays yours, you can use it when you like and we see it every week.
Rent source: Immobiliare.it, Bologna property market, September 2026.
Area, size, beds and condition move the result: the calculator gives you an estimate in thirty seconds, the free site visit the real figures.
Across the six flats we have managed for at least a year, from October 2025 to September 2026 gross revenue ranged from €33,800 to €78,700, with a median of €40,100 (nights and cleaning, before platform commissions). On the median flat a private owner on the flat tax kept about €13,100, before utilities and running costs.
On the flats we have managed for a full year, average occupancy was 87%; on those started in December 2025, 87% in the first nine months of 2026.
March, April, May, June, September and October, driven by trade fairs and conferences. January and February are the weakest; July and August stay full but at lower rates.
With the September 2026 rents reported by Immobiliare.it for central Bologna (€18.12 per m² a month), the net of the median short-let flat matches that of a 4+4 lease on about 77 m². On smaller flats the short let earns more; on larger ones the gap narrows and has to be weighed against costs and the flexibility of keeping the home free.
Yes: gross includes nights and cleaning fees paid by guests; tourist tax is excluded. In the net calculation cleaning comes off as a cost, because the cleaning firm invoices it directly.
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