Are short-term rentals changing Italian cities?

10 September 2025 Blog

Pros and cons of short-term rentals

There is a question hovering in the corridors of condominium assemblies, on Saturday afternoon talk shows, and even in the chatter among friends at the bar:
“Are short term rentals ruining Italian cities?”

Legitimate question, certainly. But also incomplete. For sometimes, behind a stark judgment lies a more nuanced reality of stories, of quiet transformations, and of homes that become ports of passage for travelers.

For some, short rentals are the absolute evil: guilty of the housing crisis, of gentrification that empties historic neighborhoods and makes them soulless postcards, ofovertourism that upsets the urban balance.
For others, however, they represent an economic renaissance, a more humane and authentic way of doing hospitality, a chance for small towns and suburbs to emerge and tell their stories.

Who is right? Perhaps, everyone. And perhaps, no one.

The advantages of short-term rentals

Flexibility and income

Short-term rentals in Italy represent an increasingly popular form of hospitality. They were born out of the push of the sharing economy, which has made it possible for millions of people to put their homes to income, offering more authentic and affordable experiences than traditional tourism.

For owners, it is a real opportunity because it means.

avoid long constraints
Zeroing the risk of delinquency
maximizing revenues.

In Venice, for example, an apartment rented on Airbnb can generate up to 26,250 euros a year, compared to about 9,800 euros for a traditional rental. In Florence, it goes up to 23,000 euros.

A true local experience

But there is also social value: short rentals reactivate vacant properties, create jobs (cleaning, maintenance, hospitality), and bring new life to areas that are peripheral or neglected by traditional tourist circuits. Not only in historic centers, but also emerging neighborhoods and lesser-known hamlets can benefit from this dynamic.

The disadvantages of short-term rentals

Gentrification and overtourism: when too much is too much

One of the most widely discussed risks is gentrification: working-class neighborhoods become progressively “trendier,” historic residents are pushed out by ever-higher rents, and homes are transformed into lodgings for travelers. Cities lose identity, becoming storefronts rather than lived-in places.

Venice is the most emblematic example: almost every second apartment in the historic center is for short-term rental. Tourism, from a resource, becomes encumbrance. This is referred to as overtourism, that phenomenon whereby cities can no longer handle the impact of the continuous flow of visitors. At that point, it is no longer tourism. It is urban stress.

The problem, however, is not the short-term rental itself. But the absence of clear and balanced regulation. When there is a lack of an urban vision, a shared development plan, everything becomes unbalanced.

The legislation is there (and changing)

Fortunately, the legislation on short-term rentals in Italy is evolving. Decree Law 50/2017 established the tax basis: 21 percent dry coupon, obligations for digital intermediaries, management limits (max 4 properties).

And as of January 1, 2025, each facility must be identified with a National Identification Code (NIC). A transparency and legality measure that will allow the state and municipalities to monitor the phenomenon, collect real data and take targeted action.

This is the right direction: regulating does not mean hindering, but enhancing what works and correcting what is disturbing.

An agency can make a difference

In this context, the role of short-term rental agencies is crucial. Those who manage temporary hospitality today have a social responsibility as well as an economic one.

A caring agency like ours can:

guiding and helping owners
select respectful guests
Collaborate with the territory and institutions
Offer authentic experiences that enhance local culture

It is not just a service. It is a new form of urban management, which can help build a balance between residence and tourism.

Short-term rentals as a social laboratory: the invisible value of the encounter

There is an aspect of short-term rentals that often escapes the numbers, but is perhaps the most valuable of all: the opportunity to create new and meaningful relationships between people, cultures and ways of living.

Sociologists and anthropologists speak of boundary-spaces, places where identity is redefined, where the unfamiliar becomes familiar. And many short-term rental houses, especially when managed with care and attention, become exactly that: meeting places, bridges between different worlds.

In an increasingly fast-paced and impersonal world, staying in an apartment-rather than an anonymous hotel-allows for a more authentic and relational experience. You cook with local produce, have a word with your neighbor, get into the rhythm of the neighborhood.

For the guest it is a cultural immersion, for the owner it is a window to the world.

Renters often tell of unexpected conversations, deep cultural exchanges, guests who have become friends, Australian families who bring Parmesan home because the lady on the third floor introduced them to it.

All of this has value. Because living is not just owning a space, but sharing it, living it together with others. Short rentals, in this sense, can help rediscover a sense of community, especially in urban settings where anonymity is the norm.

Living together: tourists and residents, not an impossible challenge

The real question is not whether we want short rentals or not. But how we want to manage them. Because Italian cities-wonderful, fragile, complex-deserve flexible, non-ideological models.

We are all a little bit traveler, a little bit citizen. And short rentals, if well managed, can be the bridge between these two dimensions. A way to experience cities without consuming them, to welcome without distorting, to gain without sacrificing the common good.

Short rentals, long reflections

Perhaps the initial question-“Are short-term rentals ruining Italian cities?” – does not have a definitive answer. But it makes sense to keep asking it, because only by discussing it can we find a true balance.

Cities, after all, Are of those who live them, but also of those who love them. Even if only for a few nights.