How much it costs to stay in Milan during trade fairs and major events: the data compared

Every time a major event comes to Milan, headlines talk about “prices tripling” or “rents through the roof”. But how much do prices really rise? And is it the same for every event? We gathered on one page the data published by research centres and analytics firms in 2025 and 2026, with the source of every figure, and read it from the perspective of someone who runs an apartment between Fiera Milano City and CityLife.

An important caveat: the sources use different methods (hotels or apartments, price per night or per week, compared with the previous week or with the yearly average). The figures show the order of magnitude; they shouldn’t be added up or compared as if they were the same measure.

Salone del Mobile: the most expensive week of the year

Hotels

Maiora Solutions monitored over 200 Milan hotels, from one to five stars, comparing Salone week 2026 (21-26 April) with nearby weeks without major events. Average price for a double room per night:

According to the same analysis, the increase over normal weeks was +242% in 2024, +181% in 2025 and +265% in 2026: 2026 was the most expensive of the three years.

Confcommercio Milano’s research centre estimates 319,433 visitors for Salone 2026 (+5.5% on 2025) and average occupancy of 81.7% in 3-, 4- and 5-star hotels within 5 km of the centre. In the same survey, carried out on 9 April on double rooms in 3- and 4-star hotels, 43% of supply was still under €400 a night.

Short-term rentals

Abitare Co.’s research centre measured the average weekly rent of a furnished one-bedroom apartment (all extra costs included) during Design Week 2026:

On the supply side, Confcommercio reports that at the end of March 2026 over 20,000 Milan properties were listed on Airbnb, 21.5% more than a year earlier, with expected occupancy of 65-70% on peak days.

2026 Olympics: when forecasts don’t become prices

Before the Games, estimates pointed to steep increases: in November 2025 Abitare Co. reported short-term rents up an average of 102% in central areas and near the venues, and 130% in Rho.

Reality was different. According to data from the Italian short-term rental managers’ association (AIGAB) reported by Il Post, a few days before the opening ceremony almost 4,000 of about 7,200 listings were still available. Hotels did better, with 80% occupancy in the first week and 60% in the second, helped by rooms blocked years earlier with the Milano Cortina Foundation. And once the Games had started, Il Giorno described short-term rentals as far from sold out, with prices falling to fill last-minute dates.

Fashion Week and Grand Prix: a record September for hotels

In September 2026, driven by the Italian Grand Prix at Monza and Fashion Week, Milan’s hotel market recorded, according to CoStar’s preliminary data, its second-highest average rate ever: €310.04 a night, +7.2% on 2025.

Our analysis: what these numbers really say

1. The Salone is in a league of its own. It’s the only event where all sources, using different methods, agree: hotels more than tripled, apartments more than doubled, occupancy above 80%. The reason is the combination of over 300,000 visitors packed into a single week, spending driven by foreign visitors (€179.9m out of €255.3m according to Confcommercio) and the Fuorisalone spread across the whole city.

2. A forecast is not a price. On the eve of the Games, the president of Rescasa Lombardia expected a market “more or less like a second Salone del Mobile”, but for short-term rentals it went the opposite way: those who set very high prices months in advance found their apartments empty and had to discount. Real demand comes from people travelling for work or a specific appointment, not from media attention.

3. “Near the fair” matters less than you’d think. In 2026 Rho, where the Salone takes place, grew less than any other area measured (+75%), while Tortona, Brera and Cinque Vie, home to the Fuorisalone, rose much more. Salone visitors want to stay where things happen in the evening and reach the fair by metro. A word of caution, though: a year earlier the same research centre reported a much higher increase for Rho, so these figures are indications, not precise measurements.

4. For groups, an apartment pays off. A rough calculation on 2026 data: a one-bedroom apartment at over €3,410 a week works out at about €490 a night for the whole apartment, against an average of €598 for a single double hotel room. For three or four colleagues the difference per person is clear. For a couple, though, a 3-star hotel (€484 on average) can be cheaper.

5. There’s always something under €400. Even at the Salone peak, two weeks before the event, 43% of double rooms in 3-4 star hotels surveyed by Confcommercio were still below that threshold. The problem isn’t finding a place, it’s finding one at a sensible price and well connected.

Practical tips if you’re coming to Milan during a major event

• Salone del Mobile (13-18 April 2027 at Rho Fiera): book as soon as you have your dates. It’s the event with the most predictable demand, and prices go up, not down.
• Heavily publicised but new or one-off events: compare prices several times and don’t rush. The 2026 Olympics show that prices can fall close to the dates.
• Choose the area by metro, not by straight-line distance. An area connected both to the centre and to the M1 line to Rho saves you time every day.
• If there are three or four of you, an apartment with separate sleeping areas almost always costs less per person than two hotel rooms.
• Factor in hidden costs: tourist tax (in Milan €9.50 per person per night in short-term rentals since 2026, see our tourist tax guide), taxis and parking.

Sources

• Confcommercio Milano Lodi Monza e Brianza research centre, Indotto Salone del Mobile 2026 (April 2026)
• Maiora Solutions, hotel price analysis during Salone 2026, reported by Il Giorno (7 April 2026)
• Abitare Co. research centre, short-term rentals during Design Week 2026, reported by QuiFinanza (8 April 2026)
• Abitare Co. research centre, short-term rentals and the Olympics, reported by QuiFinanza (November 2025)
• AIGAB, short-term rental data during the Olympics, reported by Il Post (5 February 2026)
• Il Giorno, hotel and apartment prices during the Olympics (February 2026)
• Rescasa Lombardia, short-term rental forecasts for the Olympics, reported by Il Giorno
• CoStar, preliminary data on Milan hotels in September 2026, reported by Hotel-Online (15 October 2026)

Page updated November 2026. We’ll update the data with future editions.

We also ran our own analysis of short-term rental supply, on open data: how many short-term rentals there really are in Milan.

We also analysed calendars for the Salone 2027: how short-term rentals are filling up for Salone del Mobile 2027.