In October 2025, Europe’s short-term rental market softened as modest supply growth and declining demand led to lower occupancy and average daily rates. Despite the slowdown, established hosts maintained pricing strength, and northern Italy saw a surge in bookings ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

European Review October 2025: Slower Travel, Softer Prices, and Olympic Momentum in Italy

Available listings increased in 16 of Europe's top 20 countries, while stricter regulations in Spain decreased supply by 8.2% year-over-year (YoY).

The RRI (Repeat Rent Index) remained positive for nine consecutive months at 4.6% YoY,  indicating stable pricing power for existing operators.

Northern Italy is experiencing a significant demand boost from the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics.

October brought a mixed performance across Europe’s short-term rental (STR) market. After several months of stagnation, available listings edged up again, despite sharp regulatory-driven declines in Spain. Meanwhile, demand slipped for the second month in a row. With supply rising and demand flattening, occupancy fell in most major European markets. Revenue per available rental (RevPAR) declined as average daily rates (ADR) continued its gradual softening.

Even with these pressures, pricing strength among established operators remained evident. The Repeat Rent Index (RRI), which tracks nightly rates for existing operators and removes the effect of new listings, posted its ninth consecutive month of positive growth. This signals steady rate resilience beneath the broader slowdown in ADR. 

Forward-looking bookings point to softer demand across early 2026, although northern Italy stands out as a major exception. The upcoming Milano–Cortina Winter Olympics are driving a notable surge in regional demand.
As Europe heads toward winter and a more mature phase of post-pandemic growth, the market continues to be shaped by regulation, shifting travel patterns, and a rebalancing between established and emerging destinations.

At a Glance: October 2025 STR Performance in Europe

Available listings reached 3.6 million, an increase of 1.8% YOY

Demand Nights decline slightly by 0.5% YOY to 38.2 million

Average daily rates (ADR) decreased slightly by 1.5% YOY to 120.2 €

Average occupancy rate reached 54.9%, down 1.8% YOY

Revenue per Available Rental Night (RevPAR) decreased by 3.3% YOY to 66€

The European economy has entered a period of relative stability, with both inflation and unemployment showing consistent moderation through 2024 and 2025. According to Eurostat data, euro area inflation has settled near 2.2%. It’s inflation's lowest level since 2021, after peaking above 10% in late 2022. 

With this continued stability, the European Central Bank (ECB) kept interest rates steady. They are maintaining the Main Refinancing Operations Rate at 2.15%. Meanwhile, unemployment has stayed steady around 6.3%, the most stable rate in over a decade and a sign of underlying labor market resilience despite tighter financing conditions and slowing industrial activity.

Low inflation along with steady employment has established a foundation for renewed growth momentum into the mid-2020s. Forecasts from Oxford Economics project a gradual rise in GDP growth throughout the eurozone, increasing from about 0.8% in 2024 to 1.6% by 2027. Germany, after contracting in 2023, is expected to return to positive growth, while France and Italy continue to experience steady moderate expansion.

As the ECB adopts a more supportive stance and financial pressures ease, domestic demand and investment are expected to strengthen. Stronger domestic demand and investment will lift household spending and business confidence into the mid-2020s. While Europe’s economic trajectory is less volatile than the U.S., it is increasingly defined by stability rather than stimulus.

For the short-term rental sector, this environment suggests that stable macro fundamentals, not major economic shocks, will shape performance in 2026 and beyond. Low inflation supports purchasing power, steady employment encourages domestic travel, and rising confidence benefits both tourism and housing markets. However, regulatory tightening remains the largest constraint on STR supply across many European destinations.

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Available Listings Increase in 16 of the 20 Leading Countries

Available listings across Europe reached 3.69 million units in October, a 1.8% year-over-year increase. After hitting a low point of 0.6% YoY growth in June (the slowest rate since May 2022) supply growth has begun to edge up again. 

October’s increase marks the second consecutive month with growth under 2%, signalling a cooling expansion phase after rapid post-pandemic gains. Despite easing economic uncertainty and declining interest rates, the continent-wide regulatory clampdown on short-term rentals continues to limit supply, particularly in southern Europe.

Spain experienced the most severe contraction for the second straight month, with available listings down 8.2% YoY. The regulatory actions introduced in August targeted tens of thousands of units and resulted in a 33,000-unit reduction in October alone. 

Croatia recorded the second-largest decline at –5.9% YoY, or roughly 6,000 fewer listings, underscoring how pronounced Spain’s drop has been relative to other markets.

Growth in more mature markets remained modest. Italy saw a 0.6% decline, while France and the United Kingdom posted small increases of 1.9% and 2.1%, respectively. France, Europe’s largest STR market, added nearly 18,000 units in October, the second-highest nominal increase across the continent. Germany led Europe in absolute supply growth, adding 25,000 listings, a 7.8% year-over-year rise.

Northern Europe continued to outperform. The Nordic region recorded strong gains for the second month in a row, with Norway up 12.7% and Denmark up 14%, while neighbouring Finland (+2.1%) and Sweden (+5.8%) saw more moderate growth.

Overall, Europe’s supply picture in October reflects a market still growing, but at a slower and more uneven pace. Supply growth is heavily shaped by regulatory environments and varying levels of demand stability across regions.

With supply growth in the low single digits, demand has followed a similar trend. Demand nights capture reservations for the reporting month only—in this case, we’re looking at short-term rental reservations in October. 

October marks the third consecutive month of flat or slightly negative change at 0.5%, with August at 0.3% and September decreasing slightly by 0.9%. This is the first time since the pandemic that demand growth is below 1% for more than two consecutive months. After a record-breaking Q2, the European market is cooling down as winter approaches. 

Overall demand in Europe in October 2025 declined by 0.5% year-over-year, resulting in 185,000 fewer demand nights. 

Europe’s recent slowdown in demand likely reflects a combination of market saturation, stricter regulations, and seasonal normalization. STR supply has mostly stabilized after two years of rapid growth, limiting new bookings and reducing short-term availability in key markets like Spain and France. 

Meanwhile, tougher licensing rules and enforcement have decreased listings in several southern destinations. These factors have led to softer booking activity through October 2025. The culprit is not collapsing demand, but a maturing, capacity-constrained market is adjusting to stricter rules and seasonal shifts.

Stagnating Demand and High Supply Gains Lead to Occupancy Declines

Occupancy fell across most major European markets in October as supply continued to grow faster than demand. While available listings increased in 16 of Europe’s top 20 countries, demand nights were unable to keep pace. 

As a result, occupancy declined in 15 countries year-over-year (YoY). This marks a clear shift into a slower, more mature phase of post-pandemic growth after two years of rapid expansion.

A handful of countries did record occupancy gains YoY. The strongest improvements came from:

However, these were outweighed by more significant occupancy declines elsewhere. The steepest drops occurred in:

Across Europe, October’s performance shows a broad softening in occupancy. Nordic and Central European markets continued to see strong supply growth. However, demand did not keep up, putting downward pressure on occupancy rates. Croatia stood out with a sharp –17% YoY decline in demand. Other major destinations like Spain and France saw only mild softening.

Despite stricter regulations and minimal demand growth, supply continues to rise in most countries. Steady supply growth is contributing directly to these occupancy losses. Overall, occupancy across Europe’s top markets fell 1.6% year-over-year. Declining occupancy reflects the continent’s wider transition toward slower expansion and a more balanced post-recovery market.

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Stable RRI Suggests Pricing Stability Despite Declining ADR

Average daily rates (ADR) declined in October by -1.5% year-over-year (YoY). This marks the 7th month in 2025 with negative ADR growth, with only January, February, and May seeing positive growth. The ADR trend remains negative, averaging -1.7% over the last five months. However, October showed an improvement from the -2.1% decrease in September. 

In contrast, the Repeat Rent Index (RRI), which tracks pricing changes among existing operators and removes the effect of new listings entering the market, continued its strong year-over-year growth at 4.6%. RRI is up from 4.2% growth in September, continuing its positive trend and making October the 9th consecutive month of growth. 

The contrast between RRI and ADR indicates an underlying stability beneath the apparent softness of the ADR decline. Despite new supply entering at lower prices, existing operators still manage to raise their rates.

Examining ADR performance among the top 20 European countries, the following nations stand out with the highest year-over-year growth. 

France’s 7.9% drop in ADR, despite a 3.7% increase in the Repeat Rent Index (RRI), shows a clear normalization of demand after the Paris 2024 Olympics. Major events like the Olympics typically cause temporary price increases in key markets like Paris, Marseille, and Lyon, as hosts benefit from high global demand. 

However, the following year sees a correction, with prices returning to more sustainable levels. This effect is amplified by a 1.9% rise in supply, mainly in lower-priced listings, which has shifted the market mix downward. Established hosts keep strong pricing power and can outpace inflation. Newer hosts compete at lower nightly rates, collectively pulling the national ADR average down.

Generally, the trend seems to be that RevPAR is declining due to decreasing occupancy rates. Demand remained flat and available listings increased in 16 of the 20 top European countries, contributing to these occupancy losses. With increased occupancy pressure, it is expected that ADRs will decrease as operators attempt to offer more attractive prices.

Demand Pacing Slows in Early 2026 Despite Positive December Pacing

European short-term rental demand continues to ease through mid-2026. As of November 11, demand for stays through May 2026 is roughly 2% lower than last year’s levels, showing a slowdown in travel across the continent. 

The decline in demand is most evident in the shoulder months of March and April, where demand nights are down 5–7% year-over-year.  We’re seeing slower early-spring bookings after a relatively strong winter in 2024–2025.

However, not all months are underperforming. December bookings are up 3% YoY, indicating strong holiday travel demand. May 2026 is currently tracking flat with last year, which is an encouraging sign that booking momentum may be stabilizing as summer gets closer. 

The overall trend suggests travelers remain interested in key winter and early-summer periods, but shorter booking windows and macroeconomic caution could be dampening future demand. This is especially true during off-peak months.

Analyzing short-term rental demand through May 2026 shows clear regional differences. Major Southern markets like France, Spain, and Italy still make up most booked nights, but their growth has mostly leveled off compared to last year. 

Meanwhile, Northern and Eastern European destinations (including Poland, the Czech Republic, Finland, and Hungary) are seeing larger year-over-year increases, reflecting growing off-season and regional travel to smaller markets.

At the same time, several mature markets like Croatia and Denmark are experiencing sharp year-over-year declines, signaling a post-summer normalization after last year’s strong peaks. 

Overall, the data shows Europe’s main markets still lead in volume, but the momentum is shifting toward emerging and more affordable destinations. Travelers continue to drive additional growth there despite slowing demand in larger markets.

It's important to note, however, that with consistently shorter booking windows, there is still time for demand to catch up.

Gain insights into the revenue and occupancy trends in your market.

Winter Olympics Boost Demand in Northern Italy

With the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics approaching, demand in northern Italy has been increasing. The chart below shows demand data for Milan in February, comparing bookings between 2025 and 2026. 

Demand in Milan is rising sharply ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, with bookings during the February games period already well above normal seasonal levels. Compared to the same period last year, nightly demand has more than doubled for February. This surge reflects Milan’s role as the main gateway and host city for the Games, attracting not only spectators but also media, teams, and event staff.

This Olympic-driven boost is spreading across Northern Italy, with nearby Alpine destinations and host regions experiencing significant year-over-year (YoY) demand growth. Notable demand increases are apparent in Verona (+94%) and Antholz-Anterselva (+143%) ahead of the 2026 Winter Games. 

Most alpine destinations show moderate gains as early bookings for February rise, although Livigno stands out with a -36% year-over-year decline in booked nights. This drop, however, is due to a 42% decrease in available listings. Occupancy actually increased by 10% YoY, indicating tightening supply rather than weaker demand. 

Overall, the trend highlights a shift in traveler distribution within Italy’s Olympic corridor. Demand is expanding beyond traditional ski hubs toward host and gateway cities linked to the Games.

Europe’s short-term rental market softened in October 2025 as supply rose and demand dipped, while the Winter Olympics drove strong demand in northern Italy.

Airbnb Occupancy Rate: Insights and Tips

Key Takeaways
The Airbnb occupancy rate is a vital metric for success and is calculated by dividing the number of booked nights by the available nights. The occupancy rate reflects how often your property is rented out compared to its availability.
Understanding and monitoring your occupancy rate is key to maximizing earnings, as it indicates property performance and influences pricing and marketing strategies.
How you interpret your occupancy rate is essential; high and low occupancy rates don’t always mean what you think.

Successful Airbnb hosts are obsessed with bookings, and for good reason—it’s the name of the vacation rental game.

When hosts talk about Airbnb bookings, they're really talking about occupancy rate: the percentage of available nights that guests book. Monitoring your occupancy rate is important because it shows how well your Airbnb stacks up against the competition. The occupancy rate can also indicate whether you need to switch up your strategy or pricing to boost your rental income.

Whether you’re new to short-term vacation rentals or an industry expert, it’s important to understand the methodology and best practices behind your occupancy rate. 

Learn about short-term rental data

What is Airbnb Occupancy Rate?

In its simplest form, the occupancy rate is the percentage of time a vacation rental property is booked compared to the time it is available for bookings. 

To make understanding occupancy rate easier, let's use a straightforward example.

Imagine you own a cabin that's available for guests all year. That means it could potentially be booked for 365 nights. Throughout the year, guests book your cabin for 90 of those nights. We can use that number to calculate the occupancy rate and see how often your property was rented out compared to its availability. 

By dividing the booked nights (90) by the total available nights (365) and multiplying by 100 to get a percentage, we find an occupancy rate of approximately 25%. This means your cabin was rented out for about a quarter of the year.

Reasons Why Your Occupancy Rate Matters
Maximize Revenue Potential: Physical products can be sold at any time if they’re not immediately purchased. However, a vacant vacation rental represents a unique challenge. If a property goes unbooked for a night, it's impossible to "sell" that night again. Each unbooked night directly translates into a tangible loss of potential income. That’s why the occupancy rate is crucial for owners looking to maximize their earnings. 
Reveal Property Performance Insights: Consider two similar properties in the same location. Property A consistently achieves an 80% occupancy rate, while Property B struggles to reach 50%. This stark difference signals that Property A might be better aligned with guest preferences or have better marketing. Analyzing occupancy rates helps identify performance gaps and areas for improvement, whether that's improving your listing or adjusting pricing strategies to meet market demand.
Determine Market Demand and Inform Pricing Strategies: High Airbnb occupancy rates indicate strong market demand, while low occupancy rates can reflect lower demand. This information informs your pricing strategy. Let’s consider an apartment near a convention center that has high occupancy during events but low occupancy rates otherwise. This trend suggests that you may want to consider adjusting your rates in relation to the convention center’s event calendar. Dynamic pricing takes into consideration trends like this and uses them to optimize revenue during peak and off-peak times.
Guide Investment and Enhancement Decisions: Evaluate occupancy rates before and after making upgrades, like installing high-speed internet or renovating the kitchen, to assess the return on investment (ROI). This analysis is crucial for prioritizing property improvements that make your listing more appealing and, subsequently, improve the occupancy rate.

Learn about Dynamic Pricing

How to Calculate the Airbnb Occupancy Rate

Understanding the occupancy rate of your Airbnb property is pivotal for optimizing your rental strategy. Yet, it all comes down to a single equation.

Airbnb Occupancy Rate Calculation

Reserved Days / Available Days x 100 = Occupancy Rate

With that in mind, here's a simple guide on how to find Airbnb occupancy rates:

Step-by-Step Calculation
Determine the Total Number of Reserved Days: Start by counting how many days guests booked your property over a specific period of time, usually 12 months. 
Identify the Total Number of Available Days: Calculate the total days your property was available for booking over the same time period, excluding any days you blocked off for personal use.
Calculate the Occupancy Rate: Divide the total number of reserved days by the total number of available days, then multiply the result by 100 to convert it into a percentage. These steps represent AirDNA’s version of an Airbnb occupancy rate calculator.

Example Calculation:

Imagine you own a house on the water in North Carolina and you're evaluating its performance on Airbnb over the last 12 months. The property was available for 340 days and booked for 240 days within this timeframe.

Reserved Days: 240

Available Days: 340

Occupancy Rate Calculation: 240/340 x 100 = 70.58%

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Interpreting Your Occupancy Rate

While a 70% occupancy rate may seem ideal, signaling guest satisfaction and consistent revenue, it's essential to delve deeper. High occupancy could indicate underpricing, meaning you might be missing out on potential income. It's crucial to balance occupancy with your average daily rates (ADRs) to maximize revenue. 

Think about it: A property with a 50% or 60% occupancy rate could earn more revenue than one that’s booked 70% of the time. It’s all relative to pricing. A property booked more often at $100 per night may not outearn a property that’s booked less often at $300 per night.

It’s important to ask yourself: Do I want higher occupancy or higher average daily rates (ADRs)? An accurate data tool can help you sort out which strategy is best for your bottom line. (Why guess when you can know exactly what you should be charging guests?)

What is a Good Airbnb Occupancy Rate?

Average Airbnb occupancy rates vary from market to market and year to year. You can see how the national average occupancy rate has fluctuated:

Trailing twelve months (TTM), March 2023 to February 2024: 55.1%
2023: 55.4%
2022: 58.6%
2021: 60.3%

The occupancy rate in 2022 reflects a recovery trend in the industry after the pandemic brought the average occupancy rate into the low fifties in 2020.

Determining a "good" rate is less about finding a universal number and more about understanding local market conditions, historical performance, and your personal goals for the property. Knowing your market's average helps inform decisions on pricing, marketing, and operations.

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Average Airbnb Occupancy Rates by City: Top 10 Highest Occupancy Rates

If you’re new to the short-term rental market, understanding the average airbnb occupancy rates by city can help you choose a location that’s likely to generate a healthy revenue.

These markets had the highest trailing twelve-month short-term occupancy rates (March 2023 to February 2024):

Kauai, Hawaii: 74.4%
Oahu, Hawaii: 73.4%
Maui, Hawaii: 72.4%
Maine DownEast/Acadia Coastal: 67.7%
Big Island, Hawaii: 67.1%
New York City: 65.5%
Denver: 65.3%
Anaheim, California: 65.2%
Boulder, Colorado: 64.3%
 Outer Banks, North Carolina: 64.3%

Many of the markets with the highest occupancy rates are located in Hawaii. However, seeing as the vacation rental market in Hawaii is subject to fairly heavy restrictions, let’s consider the markets with the highest occupancy rates in the contiguous U.S.

Maine DownEast/Acadia Coastal: 67.7%
New York City: 65.5%
Denver: 65.3%
Anaheim, California: 65.2%
Boulder, Colorado: 64.3%
Outer Banks, North Carolina: 64.3%
San Diego: 64.2%
Sarasota, Florida: 64.1%
Lincoln City/Newport, Oregon: 64%
Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, Tennessee: 63.9%

Average Occupancy Rates by City: Top 10 Lowest Occupancy Rates

The average Airbnb occupancy rates by city in the following areas leave hosts wanting more. These markets currently have the lowest trailing twelve-month occupancy rates:

Oxford, MS: 34.9%
Big Bear, CA: 39.6%
Southbend, Indiana: 40.4%
Texas East Area: 41.4%
College Station, Texas: 41.8%
Mississippi area: 42.1%
Augusta, Georgia/South Carolina: 42.8%
Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania: 43.2%
California South area: 43.7%
 Louisiana area: 43.9%

If you’re looking to invest in vacation properties, avoid these markets because you likely won't get a good ROI. Property managers and hosts in these markets may need to lower their rates to encourage guests to book with them rather than other Airbnbs.

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Why Airbnb Occupancy Rates Differ from Hotels 

Hotels offer a consistent product and pricing strategy, but STRs vary widely in terms of property type, location, amenities, and host engagement. It’s crucial to assess STR occupancy differently than traditional hotel occupancy in order to accurately reflect performance in the vacation rental market.

AirDNA only considers active listings in its occupancy rate calculations, whether it’s for a specific market or when someone uses our Airbnb calculator. We define active as having at least one calendar day classified as reserved or available during the reporting period. If we included every available night from every available listing in our occupancy calculation, it would return a falsely low occupancy rate. This is due to variations in vacation rental host behaviors and motivations. We’re talking about host attentiveness in managing listing calendars and their responsiveness to reservation requests.

Here are three host cases that would falsely skew occupancy downward if we included them in the occupancy rate calculation: 

Event-Based Hosts: Hosts who list properties temporarily to take advantage of specific events, causing temporary market fluctuations that don’t reflect regular hosting activity.

"Make Me Move" Hosts: Hosts who set their prices significantly above the market rate, using Airbnb as an opportunistic platform rather than a committed hosting venue.

Dormant Listings: Properties that appear available but haven't seen a booking for months, often due to a shift in host priorities or property usage.

AirDNA ensures that its occupancy rate calculations reflect genuine market activity and trends by focusing on active listings. We stand by the accuracy of our data and use this methodology to help stakeholders understand the true dynamics of the STR market. Our insights are distinct from those that can be gleaned from hotel occupancy data.

How to Get High Occupancy on Airbnb

Occupancy rate may not be a complete picture of your property’s performance, but it’s still important. After all, you’re only making money if guests are staying at your property. If your occupancy rate is falling short of expectations, take these data-driven steps to learn how to increase occupancy rate on Airbnb. 

Increase Your Airbnb Occupancy Rate

Occupancy Rate is Just the Beginning  

According to ou annual best places to invest report, most of the destinations at the top of the list have occupancy rates of 60-70%. If you're interested to learn more about a market's occupancy rate, visit the AirDNA app.

While Airbnb occupancy rates are important, you need to track a range of metrics to assess how your Airbnb is performing overall. Our insights can help you optimize your properties for the best possible occupancy rate, average daily rate (ADR), revenue per available rental (RevPAR), and overall profitability.

Frequently Asked Questions:
What is a good occupancy rate for an Airbnb?

There is no universal “good" occupancy rate. Determining whether your occupancy rate is optimized requires understanding local market conditions, historical performance, and your personal goals for the property. Keep in mind that lower occupancy rates don’t necessarily indicate lost revenue. If you are charging a higher average daily rate, you might not need as many bookings to make as much money as a competitor with higher occupancy but a lower nightly rate.

Where can you see Airbnb occupancy rates?

You can see the occupancy rate for your listing as well as that of competitors in the area on your AirDNA dashboard. 

Find out what “Airbnb occupancy rate” refers to, how to calculate it, and tips for improving your occupancy rate and increasing your STR income.

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European Review October 2025: Slower Travel, Softer Prices, and Olympic Momentum in Italy

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