Florence Ranks Third in Italy for Airbnb Listings, Tuscany Leads Nationwide

Florence has the third-highest number of Airbnb listings among Italian cities, with 13,902 properties advertised on the platform in August 2026, according to a new study by Federalberghi, Italy’s national hotel industry association.

Only Rome, with 37,387 listings, and Milan, with 26,610, recorded higher figures. Florence had more listings than Naples (11,497) and Venice (9,042), two other major Italian tourist destinations.

Tuscany ranked first among Italy’s regions, with 72,771 Airbnb listings, representing approximately 12.7% of the national total of 571,982. Lombardy followed with 66,619 listings, ahead of Sicily (57,335) and Lazio (51,871).

The study, conducted by Federalberghi with support from Italian research company Incipit Consulting and US-based Inside Airbnb, found that the number of listings across Italy had increased by 7.2% over the previous 12 months, equivalent to 38,587 additional advertisements compared with August 2025.

Most listings are for entire properties

The research also examined how accommodation advertised on Airbnb is managed, challenging the perception that short-term rentals mainly involve homeowners occasionally renting out spare rooms.

According to the study, 81.8% of listings concern entire properties, rather than individual rooms in homes shared with their owners.

Another 67.5% of listings were published by hosts managing more than one property, suggesting that a substantial proportion of the market involves operators with multiple accommodation units.

The research also found that 57.6% of advertised properties were available for more than six months a year, indicating that many are offered for short-term rental on a regular basis rather than occasionally.

These figures refer to listings across Italy, not specifically to Florence or Tuscany. They also do not establish whether individual hosts operate as registered businesses or how frequently the advertised properties are actually occupied.

Hotel associations raise concerns about housing and competition

Franco Marinoni, director of Confcommercio Florence, the local branch of Italy’s trade and business association, said the findings demonstrated the continued expansion of Airbnb, particularly in Florence and Tuscany.

He called for closer examination of how many properties are managed by operators registered for VAT, arguing that the commercial nature of some short-term rental activity deserves greater scrutiny.

Marinoni also questioned the idea that staying in an Airbnb property necessarily allows visitors to experience everyday local life, particularly in buildings where accommodation is predominantly occupied by tourists.

Francesco Bechi, president of Federalberghi Florence, said the findings suggested that short-term rentals were increasingly concentrated in established tourist destinations, including cities where hotels and other registered accommodation providers were already widely available.

The associations also raised concerns about the effects of short-term rentals on residential neighbourhoods, urban development and competition between different types of tourist accommodation.

The findings add to the wider debate in Florence over how to balance tourism with the availability of housing for permanent residents. However, the number of Airbnb listings alone does not establish how many homes have been withdrawn from the long-term rental market.

Questions over safety equipment and registration

The study also examined information provided in Airbnb advertisements about safety equipment and compliance with Italian registration requirements.

According to Federalberghi, more than half of the listings did not mention a fire extinguisher, while 39.9% indicated the presence of a first-aid kit and 33.1% listed a smoke detector.

The absence of information in an advertisement does not necessarily mean that the equipment is missing from the property.

The association also reported that 14.7% of listings did not display a National Identification Code (CIN), the registration number required under Italian rules for tourist accommodation and short-term rentals.

The CIN system was introduced to improve the identification and monitoring of tourist accommodation across Italy. The code must be displayed in advertisements, allowing authorities to check whether properties comply with registration requirements.

Federalberghi called for stronger checks by the relevant authorities, arguing that compliance with safety and registration rules is necessary to protect guests and ensure fair competition.

Florence’s short-term rental debate

The figures highlight the scale of the short-term rental market in Florence, where the growth of tourist accommodation has become a significant issue for housing policy and the management of the historic centre.

The concentration of listings in Florence and across Tuscany also shows that the phenomenon extends beyond the region’s capital to other established tourist destinations.

Although the research was commissioned by an association representing hotels, its findings provide new figures for the debate over the regulation of short-term accommodation.

The central question for local authorities remains how to accommodate visitor demand while preserving housing availability, residential communities and appropriate standards for tourist accommodation.

(Cover photo by Ameer Albahouth via Unsplash)

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