Milan and Airbnb find a working solution for ‘temporary residents’

Long-term visitors to the city can now sign convenient online rental contracts

People coming to the city of Milan for stays longer than a mere tourist visit can now rest easy in the knowledge that they can find and reserve accommodation to fit their particular needs after a collaboration agreement was signed between Airbnb and the Italian Municipality. The announcement, which came on 10 May after an online meeting between the two sides, stipulated that the so-called ‘temporary residents’ and students will be offered rental contracts on the lodging platform at rates which had been agreed with the City Council.

The agreement had already been signed with a national property platform

This appears to be part of a wider policy on part of the Milanese authorities towards providing greater flexibility for visitors, temporary workers and students and making the city more accessible through control on rental prices. This comes from an understanding that young talent should be attracted to this dynamic urban environment regardless of their income disposition.

The project presented by the Airbnb platform provides for the creation of a dedicated page where hosts will find two templates of rental contracts with an agreed fee one for 1-18 months and another for students (6-36 months). The page will be promoted through a campaign on different channels: seminars in collaboration with the OspitaMI Owners Association, informative emails to Airbnb hosts and a campaign on social networks.

“The pandemic has changed the dynamics of housing supply and demand worldwide, creating the need to think of new strategies through dialogue between public and private,” stated Pierfrancesco Maran, Councilor for Urban Planning, adding: “Institutions must be more dynamic, the platforms that have represented the innovation of the last decade can implement their services adapting them to the next. This agreement was born with this goal, and from the awareness that the theme of housing will be central in the coming years in a city that wants to welcome everyone".

Who are the ‘temporary Milanese’?

According to data provided by the Municipality, those who arrive in the city and rely on Airbnb for a booking over 28 days are usually single people (about 70% of bookings). They choose to move to Milan mainly in the months of January, September and October and their favourite districts are Centrale, Sarpi, Magenta-Sant'Ambrogio, Porta Romana and Porta Venezia-Dateo. 

As evidence of the growing mobility, more than one out of two searches for a transitional stay are carried out with the aim of being in Milan within the following month. Most of the research concerns stays of at least 1 or 2 months. Over 70% of searches are carried out by Italians, and the remainder by foreigners who, despite the travel difficulties linked to the pandemic, are looking for a 'long-term' accommodation in Milan.

"There are numerous personal and professional reasons that lead a person to seek temporary accommodation and to call it home anyway. The collaboration with the Municipality goes in the direction of imagining a future of sustainable hospitality, that we hope to be able to replicate in other cities. Hosts are showing a lot of attention to long-term rent with 80% already accepting stays longer than 28 days 50% of listings have a discounted rate over the long term,” explained Valentina Reino, Head of public policy at Airbnb Italy.