Milan, 25 December 2025 – If you are among those who were thinking of moving to the homes of friends and relatives for some time to sublet your apartment to visitors arriving for the Winter Olympics to try to earn the equivalent of a paycheck or two, perhaps you should think again. Indeed, less than 50 days from the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan both “short-term rentals” both hotels have not yet been overrun by sports tourists. If for hotels the filling is higher, on average (80 – 85 percent), as far as apartments are concerned, not only is there no rush for accommodation yet. But we are not even witnessing an explosion in prices: there are increases, but the experience of the Salone del Mobile taught that those who charge excessive prices do not rent. And even hosts, owners of apartments who turn to the short-term rental market, have not increased. Anyone who has a vacant apartment doesn’t bother putting it on the market for game weeks.
The expert explains
Francesco Zorgno, president of Rescasa Lombardia, explained to the Nova agency: “The short-term rental market for Milan for the Olympic period will be more or less like a second Furniture Fair, but not like a furniture fair like there was many years ago, with crazy prices and a rush for apartments, there will certainly be a peak period with a greater demand for real estate units compared to the period of mid-February which is certainly not an interesting period for Milan, however very gradually, bookings have been arriving since the beginning of December. However, we do not expect the event to fail from a turnout point of view.”
The accelerated wait in January. But supply has not increased
Zorgno underlines that “we expect an acceleration of bookings towards mid-January, which however will probably coincide with some price drops, now the closer the period is to the operators the more they tend to moderate prices”.
But there’s more: “Also from the property owners, there was no sudden rush into the apartment market to take advantage of the Olympic period. Those who have a vacant house, there are so many in Milan, an infinite number of them, don’t try to furnish it and get the authorizations and comply with all the requirements for non-hotel accommodation just for two or three weeks of work, they prefer to keep it empty. Not like what happened in Rome for the Jubilee where many properties went online last year, only to then remain empty because there were too many and they were not suitable. In Milan the offer has not increased, perhaps it has improved in terms of qualitative characteristics”.
Lockbox for short term rentals
The point about reservations
As regards reservations, Zorgno specifies, “up to now lMost of them are from Italy, but above all linked to institutional subjects, linked to organisations, law enforcement agencies, suppliers, therefore essentially Italian subjects, are those who booked first also because they were approved by the organization. At the moment, however, travelers are quite widespread, I would say a little of prevalence of foreignersbut for a very simple reason, the Italians come to see the event in Milan perhaps during the day, instead of coming from abroad they necessarily have to stay to sleep, but this is quite typical of all Milanese events, it is not something specific to the Olympics”.
And what about hotels?
“A good part of the hotels, especially central ones – he explains Maurizio Naro president of Federalberghi Milan – they are full because half of their rooms are provided for the Olympic family as well as the sponsors and the sponsors’ guests. About ten thousand rooms in Milan already had this destination until the nomination. Subsequently there were additions, because the various delegations occupied these structures. Furthermore, many hotels have kept part of the rooms available to their traditional guests, who come all year round because it is a working month anyway. On the outskirts there is still some availability. Partly some hotels will be also used by the police which will complement the current presence of the Milan police forces. And then they are still missing from the account sports tourists. This is not yet clear at this time.”
Probably, adds Naro, “they will arrive at the last minute based on the tickets they have managed to purchase for the races they want to see. Let’s say that Milan, from this point of view, is likely to receive greater bookings from North America because the races that will take place in Milan, like hockey and skating, certainly see American athletes as possible medals and their tourist is expected to arrive”. As for the hotel industry, concludes Naro, “at the moment we believe it will be at 80-85 percent average occupancy, where we will have perhaps 100 percent in the center and 70 percent in the suburbs, a little less near the city center”.
