Holiday rental amenities in Genoa 2026: what guests really want

The Genoa market: an expanding context that rewards quality

Before delving into the details of individual amenities, it’s worth framing the context in which short-term rentals operate in Genoa. The most recent available figures show a market experiencing structural growth, not cyclical. According to data from the Regional Tourism Observatory of Liguria, in the period January-September 2025 the Genoa metropolitan area recorded 5,273,855 total presences, of which 1,442,129 in Furnished Apartments for Tourist Use (Aaut — the category that includes most short-term rentals). A figure that shows the weight of the non-hotel accommodation segment is now anything but marginal.

On the supply side, Confcommercio Genoa estimates around 4,000 apartments destined for short-term rental in the Historic Center alone (early 2025 data, both registered and unregistered). At the regional level, Aaut properties active in Liguria at the end of 2025 numbered 39,099, of which 11,569 in the Genoa metropolitan area, according to data reported by GenovaToday. The short-term rental market in Liguria generated a gross book value of 606 million euros in 2025, creating an estimated impact on regional GDP of around three billion, according to information that emerged at a conference organized by the Genoa section of FIAIP and reported by Piazza Levante.

In this scenario, competition between listings has intensified. Beyond Pricing, in its analysis of 2026 trends, emphasizes how “properties that stand out for design, services offered, or location achieve better results” compared to the market average. The quality of amenities has become one of the few tangible levers on which a property owner can act concretely.

How to read amenities: three categories, three different logics

A frequent mistake among property owners is treating all amenities the same way: a washing machine and parking, WiFi and a smart TV, are put on equal footing. In reality, industry research distinguishes three categories of amenity with very different functions:

• Baseline amenities (minimum threshold): their absence generates negative reviews and loss of visibility in the OTA algorithm. Their presence does not generate a price premium because they are taken for granted.
• Competitive amenities: they influence the booking decision when the guest compares similar listings. They can still make a difference in markets where they are not yet universal.
• Differentiating amenities: rare in the local market, they allow higher rates to be applied and attract specific guest segments willing to pay more.

This distinction, developed by hometeamluxuryrentals.com based on AirDNA data, has direct practical implications: investing in a baseline amenity does not increase revenue, but not having it reduces it. Investing in a differentiating amenity can instead open a new market positioning.

Baseline amenities: what cannot be missing

WiFi: it’s not a plus, it’s running water

WiFi is the amenity that has changed category most in recent years: from differentiating to baseline. Airbnb lists it as one of the three most sought-after amenities globally in search filters. Industry research published by Truvi.com cites a survey commissioned by Airbnb which finds that 97% of American travelers consider available amenities decisive for their overall experience.

What matters in 2026, however, is not simply the presence of WiFi, but its speed. Vikey.it, in its analysis of guest experience 2026, identifies fast WiFi — together with smart check-in and rapid communications — as one of the elements that have become “decisive in choosing an accommodation”. The reason is structural: Beyond Pricing documents how booking windows are getting shorter, with guests increasingly booking last-minute and often working remotely during their stay. Slow or unstable WiFi doesn’t generate an outright negative review, but it generates the classic comment “everything was beautiful, but the connection was slow” that lowers the overall rating.

The operational recommendation is concrete: fiber optic (or at least a stable connection of at least 50 Mbps download), a router positioned to cover all rooms, and a visible password. For apartments with multiple bedrooms, a WiFi repeater costs less than a lost night’s reservation.

However, an important note emerges from Beyond Pricing’s analysis of AirDNA MarketMinder data: WiFi, together with cable TV, heating, and parking, “shows no measurable price premium in any of the markets studied”. It’s an amenity that protects positioning but doesn’t improve it. Don’t expect to raise your rate just because you have fiber.

Smart TV and streaming: the new normal of entertainment

Traditional television has given way to smart TVs with access to streaming platforms. Wildheart Design, in its analysis of guest expectations 2025, lists “streaming-ready TVs” among the comfort amenities now expected. Airbnb data places television in the ninth position among the most sought-after amenities globally.

For the Genoa market, smart TV has additional relevance: Genoa attracts guests with stays that are on average longer compared to busier art cities (as confirmed by data showing low seasonality for the destination). A stay of 4-5 nights implies evenings in the apartment, where the quality of entertainment enters into the overall assessment. A smart TV of 43″ or larger, configured with at least Netflix or Prime Video (host account), can today be considered a competitive amenity in transition toward baseline status.

Air conditioning and climate control: the amenity that changes rates

While WiFi doesn’t generate a rate premium, air conditioning is a different story. Research published by hometeamluxuryrentals.com, based on AirDNA data, reveals that the presence of air conditioning is correlated with a rate premium of approximately +15.5% in the analysis of correlations between amenities and prices. However, this data must be contextualized: correlation does not imply direct causality, and reflects the fact that apartments with air conditioning tend to also have higher overall quality.

What is certain is the demand side. A survey commissioned by Airbnb reveals surprising results: in Italy, 39% of respondents cite air conditioning as the most important indoor amenity — more than WiFi and kitchen. In absolute terms, globally, Airbnb ranks air conditioning fourth among the most searched amenities in search filters.

“In today’s world of being constantly connected, it was a surprise to find modern vacationers value comfort over connectivity, with the majority of those surveyed in Italy (39%) citing air conditioning as one of the most important indoor amenities over internet/wifi.”

— Airbnb, research on the most sought-after amenities by guests (news.airbnb.com)

For Genoa, the air conditioning question has a geographical specificity. The historic center, with its historic buildings and narrow alleys, can become very hot in the summer months, with limited natural ventilation. An apartment in the caruggi or in the interior floors of historic buildings without air conditioning risks losing most bookings in the July-September quarter, which — despite Genoa’s lower seasonality compared to the Riviera — remains the rate peak. Investment in a split system is therefore one of the few cases where the ROI is direct and measurable: recovery on the summer rate premium and the absence of cancellations or negative reviews due to heat.

In parallel, efficient and easily adjustable heating is equally critical for autumn and winter stays. Genoa has an extended tourist season — the city’s seasonality index is significantly lower than the national average, as documented by the genovabb.it Observatory — which means that an apartment with inadequate or difficult-to-use heating loses points in reviews from October, November and March.

Washing machine (and dryer): the long-stay amenity

Airbnb ranks the washing machine seventh in the global ranking of most sought-after amenities, above the hot tub and television. And the reason is simple: those traveling for more than three nights want to be able to wash their clothes.

In the Genoese context this has significant weight. The city attracts diversified flows: cultural tourists with stays of 3-5 nights, visitors for the Nautical Salon and other trade fair events, traveling workers (a significant corporate segment given the port and industrial hub), families with children. All profiles that value a washing machine.

The finding from the Airbnb research is also culturally interesting: “the washing machine is more important than the dryer,” as explicitly indicated by Airbnb’s resource center. In Italy, where the climate allows natural drying and the culture of the dryer is less rooted than in Northern European countries, this alignment is even more pronounced. However, for apartments on the ground floor or without an exposed balcony/terrace, a dryer or washer-dryer combo becomes a concrete differentiator, especially for foreign segments (Northern Europeans, Americans) who are not used to drying clothes on a clothesline.

From an investment standpoint, a good quality washing machine (not the cheapest model, which generates noise and breakdowns) is in the 400-700 euro range and represents one of the amenities with the best cost/impact ratio on reviews.

Parking and balcony: amenities with Genoese value

Parking: a real differentiator in a difficult city

Genoa is a city with complex urban morphology: narrow streets, steep hills, ZTLs in the historic center, scarce availability of free parking. For a guest arriving by car — and a good portion of Italian and Northern European tourists do — finding parking is a real problem that can spoil arrival.

Airbnb data ranks free parking third globally among amenities most searched in filters, just after pool and WiFi. In urban contexts like Genoa, where private parking is rare and public parking is expensive (covered guarded parking in the historic center can cost around 22 euros per day, as emerges from ads on Airbnb), the availability of a parking space — even at a discounted rate — becomes a concrete differentiator.

On Kayak, among the most used filters by users in searching for vacation homes in Genoa, parking appears explicitly as one of the “most popular” services, along with WiFi, air conditioning and waterfront location. It’s not just perception: it’s booking behavior data. Listings with included or partnered parking can command higher rates and tend to receive longer stay bookings (families and travelers with cars book longer stays).

For owners of apartments in the historic center — where private parking is almost impossible — the alternative solution is an agreement with nearby parking (many professional managers like genovabb.it already offer this in their managed properties) or at least precise and updated instructions on where to park, with indication of park-and-ride lots or ZTLs.

Balcony with a view: the emotional factor that beats photos

The Genoa real estate market in 2025 documented by Primocanale is explicit: “sea view is a must-have” both for buyers and for the short-term rental market, and it is one of the main drivers of the coastal boom. This data translates directly into the short-term rental market: an apartment with a balcony or terrace with a sea view, harbor view, or even just an open urban panorama — compared to an identical one in terms of square footage and location but without an external view — is perceived as significantly superior.

The balcony cannot be classified as an amenity in the technical sense of the term (it does not appear in Airbnb filters as an amenity), but it is one of the most photographed elements in listing galleries and among the most commented on in positive reviews. Booking.com, in a survey of 29,733 respondents in 33 countries, found that 75% of travelers are interested in amenities linked to “optimizing the stay” — and a balcony with a view fits perfectly into this experiential category.

For property owners, the practical message is: if the apartment has a balcony or an interesting view, it must be the star of the photos and description. If it doesn’t have one, quality internal amenities (premium linens, thoughtful lighting, equipped kitchen) become even more important to compensate.

What emerges from the analysis: priorities and ROI by amenity

Here is a summary of the findings from the analysis, ordered by investment priority for a Genoa property owner:

A cross-cutting theme emerges clearly from the sector analysis: amenities follow a lifecycle. As documented by hometeamluxuryrentals.com based on AirDNA data, each amenity goes through three phases — differentiator, competitive, baseline — and “when an amenity becomes standard in most properties, it often stops working as a premium differentiator”. WiFi is already in the third phase. Air conditioning is transitioning between the second and third phase in many Italian urban markets. Those who invest today in an amenity still in the competitive phase have a real temporal advantage.

“In 2026 a stay is no longer perceived simply as a place to sleep: it is an integral part of the journey. This is why guests are willing to spend more to obtain comfort, convenience, and perceived quality.”

— Vikey.it, guest experience analysis for short-term rentals 2026 (May 2026)

The Liguria and Genoa context amplifies this trend. Piazza Levante reports the observations of Carmela Lerede, national delegate of AIGAB at the FIAIP conference in February 2026: the growth of short-term rentals in Liguria has also resulted in an increase in the average length of stay. Longer stays mean guests with higher expectations about home comfort — washing machine, equipped kitchen, adequate air conditioning — not just location.

Practical implications for property owners

The analysis provides concrete operational guidance for those managing or considering putting an apartment in Genoa to generate income.

Limited budget should go to air conditioning, not design. An apartment that is nicely furnished but without air conditioning will lose a good portion of summer bookings — the quarter with the highest rates — and will receive below-average reviews. A split system in the living room and bedroom is the investment with the most direct ROI in the Genoa market.

Slow WiFi is invisible until it becomes the problem. A fast connection does not generate positive reviews (“everything was fine, WiFi was fast”) but slow WiFi generates negative reviews that lower the overall average. Periodically checking speed with an online speed test tool (and displaying the result in the listing) is a simple practice with concrete effects on guest trust.

Parking is worth listing as an amenity even if it is not private. For downtown apartments without a parking space, an agreement with a nearby parking garage — even at a discounted rate for guests — is a real differentiator in a city structurally lacking parking spaces. It should be communicated in the listing explicitly, not hidden in check-in instructions.

The balcony is sold through photos, not words. If the apartment has a panoramic view, the first photo in the listing should be taken from the balcony. OTA algorithms weigh the click-through rate on images: a strong visual opening increases conversions from search to booking.

The washing machine is the most undervalued amenity by owners and most appreciated by guests. It is systematically mentioned in positive reviews of apartments with medium and long stays, and its absence in compact apartments (studios, one-bedrooms) is one of the reasons some guests prefer larger properties. For apartments up to 40 square meters, even a compact dishwasher significantly contributes to the perception of a “well-equipped home”.

Finally, a systemic consideration: the quality of amenities does not operate in a vacuum. Vikey.it emphasizes how in 2026 guests “compare dozens of properties, read reviews, check response times, and verify flexibility” before even evaluating price. Physical amenities contribute to the final score, but they are amplified (or nullified) by the quality of management: smooth check-in, quick communication, impeccable cleaning. An apartment with all the right amenities but poorly managed still receives mediocre reviews. The opposite, fortunately, is also true: excellent management enhances even modest amenities.

If you are considering evaluating putting your apartment to generate income in Genoa and want to understand which amenity investments should be priorities for your specific property type and location, we are available to provide a personalized assessment.