It's nothing new: a big event like the Olympic Games, also those Winter, always represents a great deal for the host. Beyond the costs, in fact, there is the possibility of cash in millions and millions of euros from sponsors, tickets, hospitality and everything else that revolves around that month of competitions (including the Paralympic Games). It will be so also for Milano Cortina 2026, the long-awaited Winter Olympics that returns to Italy twenty years after Turin 2006, with a novelty: in 2006 Airbnb in our country there wasn't one, and therefore there wasn't the possibility for ordinary citizens to offer housing and earn good money from it.
Now Airbnb is here and with the approach of Milan Cortina 2026, scheduled from 6 to 22 February (the Paralympics from 6 to 15 March), the holiday home platform has registered a notable increase increase in searches for accommodation in some of the most iconic mountain resorts Italian cities, such as Bormio, Cortina and Livigno. It is no coincidence that these locations will host the Olympic Games, so much so that this growth is driven not only by Italian travellers, but also by winter sports fans from Eastern European countries, particularly the Czech Republic and Poland.
Airbnb and the Co-Host Network
For make hospitality more efficient and organized During the event, Airbnb introduced the Co-Host Network for families who own a second home near the Olympic venues but live too far away to manage the daily hospitality: a practical solution to rely on experienced and reliable local co-hosts, who can take care of the accommodation for them. And to guarantee golden deals, since according to a recent study condotto Deloitte, those who decide to host with Airbnb during the Milan Cortina Games will be able to get an average profit for host of approximately EUR 2.400, with visitors spending 150 per day, a good portion of which is for accommodation.
The Economic Impact of Hospitality
Il hospitality system will have an overall economic impact – just for overnight stays – estimated at 154 million euros for Italy, of which 33 million in taxes and fees. Airbnb's offer – dispersed and less concentrated than traditional accommodation – could facilitate overnight stays near the race locations, given that these are numerous and scattered throughout Northern Italy, involving three regions in the Alpine arc: Lombardy, Veneto and Trentino-Alto Adige.
In absence of such a formula, Deloitte also estimated that the Games venues would face a daily gap of 52.000 beds, given that 2026 million people from all over the world are expected in February 2. Airbnb alone, given the vast area and the limited hotel offering, will provide a number of beds that Deloitte has quantified at 70.000.
