Is Airbnb still worth it in Cartagena?

Why are people questioning Airbnb in Cartagena now?

Airbnb in Cartagena is still a real investment opportunity, but the market is much less forgiving than during the easy-growth years.

The first reason is competition. Airbtics' 2025 report counted 2,136 extra short-term listings in Cartagena during 2025, a 31.2% jump, while average revenue per property slipped 2.1%. Adding that many units clearly put pressure on existing hosts.

AirDNA's data through September 2026 shows a different picture now. It tracks 9,730 active rentals, 39.0% below a year earlier. Occupancy has recovered to 53%, while average nightly rates have dropped sharply.

The two platforms measure things differently, so we don't stitch their figures into one series. Part of AirDNA's listing drop likely reflects how it counts "active" listings, not a wave of closures or a ban. AirROI, another platform, even counts 47% more Cartagena listings than a year earlier, so nobody can prove supply is shrinking. What is clear: a big supply boom in 2025, then a market where hosts compete hard on price.

So the real question is no longer whether Airbnb "works" in Cartagena. It is whether a new buyer can still earn enough after paying today's property prices and the full cost of running a short-term rental.

What was measured	Source and period	Reading	What we learn
Listings added during 2025	Airbtics, 2025	+2,136 (+31.2%)	A big supply wave hit the city
Average revenue per property, 2025	Airbtics, 2025	-2.1%	More units did not mean more money per unit
Active rentals	AirDNA, to Sept 2026	9,730 (-39.0%)	The measured active pool has shrunk
Occupancy	AirDNA, to Sept 2026	53%	About half the year is booked
Average nightly rate	AirDNA, to Sept 2026	$122 (-18.0%)	Hosts are cutting prices

Are tourists still coming to Cartagena?

Yes. Weak visitor demand is not the main problem facing Airbnb owners in Cartagena.

Rafael Núñez International Airport handled 7.76 million passengers in 2025, the highest annual total in its history. Traffic grew 3.27% on the previous year, with international traffic up 4.9% and domestic traffic up 2.8%.

2026 is still growing, just more slowly. The airport moved 5.85 million passengers from January to September 2026, 1.2% more than a year earlier, including 585,592 in September alone (El Universal, 19 October 2026).

The peak season was strong. Between 15 December 2025 and 15 January 2026, about 1.3 million visitors arrived in the city, international air passengers rose 7.3% and hotel occupancy reached 81.28%, up 4.3 points on the previous season. In the first half of 2026, arrivals by air rose 3.8% to 1,900,333, and 457,386 foreigners stayed in the city.

These numbers rule out a simple "Cartagena tourism is fading" explanation for weaker Airbnb pricing. What has become harder is turning that tourism into high returns when thousands of other hosts compete for the same guests.

Are Cartagena Airbnbs still getting enough bookings?

Cartagena Airbnbs are still getting booked, but the average property spends roughly half the year without a guest.

AirDNA puts average occupancy at 53% over the 12 months to September 2026, up 16.7% on a year earlier. Other platforms that use a different method show lower levels, so treat 53% as the upper end of what an average unit achieves, not a floor.

At 53% occupancy, a property available every day sells about 193 nights a year and leaves around 172 nights unsold.

That is workable for a holiday rental in a city with strong peak pricing. But it leaves no room for optimistic assumptions. You cannot assume 70% or 80% occupancy just because Cartagena's hotels reach those levels in busy weeks.

It also explains why listing quality matters more. When tourists can choose among thousands of apartments, units with weaker reviews, old interiors, bad photos, poor building amenities or aggressive prices lose nights quickly.

Cartagena still has enough guests for good Airbnbs. Average properties have to fight much harder for them.

Why are Cartagena Airbnb nightly rates falling?

Cartagena Airbnb nightly rates are falling because hosts are charging less to keep their calendars full.

AirDNA's numbers through September 2026 are clear. Occupancy is up 16.7% on a year earlier, yet the average daily rate has fallen 18.0% to $122.

Combine the two and RevPAR comes to $64, up just 0.4%. RevPAR is the revenue an available night generates once both price and occupancy are counted.

This matters more than the occupancy rise on its own. Hosts are filling more nights, but cheaper prices have eaten almost all of the gain.

The 2025 supply wave explains how we got here: 31.2% more listings in one year, with revenue per property already slipping. That kind of growth makes price competition unavoidable.

For a new investor, we would not count on nightly rates bouncing back. A deal that only works if a $122 night becomes a $150 night does not work today.

AirDNA metric (12 months to Sept 2026)	Current level	Year-over-year change	What is happening
Occupancy	53%	+16.7%	More available nights are being booked
Average daily rate	$122	-18.0%	Hosts have cut prices heavily
RevPAR	$64	+0.4%	Revenue per available night is flat
Active rentals	9,730	-39.0%	Measured active supply has contracted

Is Cartagena Airbnb revenue really up 63%?

No, not for the typical host. The 62.9% jump in average Cartagena short-term-rental revenue looks much stronger than the market really is.

AirDNA reports $21,800 in average annual revenue per active rental over the 12 months to September 2026, up 62.9% on a year earlier. Taken alone, that sounds like a spectacular year.

The other AirDNA figures say something else. Revenue per available night is up only 0.4%, nightly prices are down 18.0%, and the number of active rentals in the dataset has fallen 39.0%.

These numbers fit together if the mix of measured properties has changed. When inactive, seasonal or poorly performing listings drop out of the active pool, average revenue among those left can jump without any surviving host earning 60% more.

The 2025 data points the same way: during the supply boom, Airbtics found average revenue per property falling 2.1%, not soaring.

So we would not underwrite a Cartagena purchase on the 62.9% figure. The honest reading is that active operators are doing better than during the worst of the oversupply, while what each available night earns is flat.

How much can a normal Cartagena Airbnb make now?

A normal Cartagena Airbnb grosses around $21,800 a year in bookings, according to AirDNA's average for active listings over the 12 months to September 2026.

That is about $1,800 a month before expenses. Other platforms give lower figures with different methods, which is one more reason to treat the AirDNA average as a ceiling for an ordinary unit, not a target.

And "before expenses" does a lot of work here.

Booking revenue still has to cover platform fees, electricity, internet, air conditioning, cleaning, maintenance, furniture replacement, building fees (administración), property tax (predial), any management fee and, at the end, income tax.

The same $21,800 can make an excellent investment at a low purchase price and a mediocre one at a high price.

Purchase price	Gross yield at $21.8K revenue	If 60% remains after running costs (before income tax)	If 50% remains (before income tax)
$150K	14.5%	8.7%	7.3%
$175K	12.5%	7.5%	6.2%
$200K	10.9%	6.5%	5.5%
$250K	8.7%	5.2%	4.4%
$300K	7.3%	4.4%	3.6%

Does Airbnb still pay more than a normal rental in Cartagena?

Yes, a well-run Airbnb can still beat a long lease in Cartagena, but the gap is much smaller than the gross revenue suggests.

Global Property Guide's Q3 2026 data puts Cartagena's average gross long-term rental yield at 5.22%. That is low for Colombia: Bogotá is around 7.67%, Medellín 6.88% and Barranquilla 8.41%. Expensive tourist property explains most of Cartagena's gap.

Take a $200,000 apartment. Let long term at 5.22%, it brings about $10,440 a year; if roughly 80% survives building fees, predial and empty months, that is about 4.2% before income tax.

The same apartment on Airbnb at $21,800 shows a 10.9% headline yield. If 60% of that survives running costs, you keep about 6.5% before income tax. If only half survives because you pay full-service management or the building is expensive, it falls to 5.5%.

So Airbnb wins by around 1.3 to 2.3 points before tax, in exchange for far more work, more volatile income and more legal risk.

The short-stay strategy only becomes clearly better when you self-manage, buy below market, beat average revenue, or do all three.

How much do Airbnb managers take in Cartagena?

A foreign owner using full-service management in Cartagena should expect management alone to take about one-fifth of booking revenue, sometimes more.

Local pricing gives a range. Cartagena Hospitalidad advertises a 20% revenue commission, some firms add VAT on top, and a few full-service operators ask close to 30%. Lighter co-hosting (messages and pricing only) can start around 10%.

Then Airbnb takes its own cut. Under the split-fee model many hosts pay around 3%, while hosts on the host-only fee, which covers most listings run through management software, pay around 15.5%.

The two fee models don't stack for every property, so adding 20% management and 15.5% Airbnb fees to every unit would overstate costs.

Still, there is no way around it. An overseas investor who wants someone else to handle pricing, guests, check-ins, maintenance and night-time problems gives away a big slice of gross revenue before paying the apartment's other bills.

Passive Airbnb ownership and self-managed Airbnb ownership are almost two different investments.

How much tax does a foreign Airbnb owner pay in Cartagena?

A non-resident owner pays 35% income tax on Colombian-source rental profit, a flat rate. A tax resident pays the progressive scale from 0% to 39% instead. Airbnb says it does not withhold Colombian income tax for hosts, so filing and paying is your job (or your accountant's).

On our $200,000 example, 60% of $21,800 leaves $13,080 of operating profit. Tax at 35% takes $4,578, leaving $8,502: about 4.3% net, not 10.9%. That simplified example ignores deductions such as depreciation, which can lower the tax bill.

The paperwork is not optional either. Every unit rented to tourists for less than 30 days needs its own RNT (Registro Nacional de Turismo), renewed every year between 1 January and 31 March. Registered operators also owe the 0.25% tourism contribution (FONTUR) on operating income, and 19% VAT on lodging applies only if you are VAT-registered.

What to do: ask your accountant for a full-year tax estimate before you buy, and budget an RNT renewal date in your calendar every January.

Cost or obligation	Amount	When
Income tax, non-resident owner	35% of net rental profit	Yearly tax return
Income tax, resident owner	0% to 39%, progressive	Yearly tax return
RNT registration	One per unit	Renew 1 January to 31 March
Tourism contribution (FONTUR)	0.25% of operating income	Periodic filing
VAT on lodging	19%, only if VAT-registered	With bookings

Are Cartagena's tourist neighborhoods too expensive for Airbnb?

Some of Cartagena's most popular tourist areas are now expensive enough to make Airbnb yields hard to reach.

Aptologia's asking prices on 22 October 2026 put Centro Histórico at about COP 18.5 million per m², or about $5,800. Bocagrande asks about $3,100, El Laguito and El Cabrero about $2,650, and Manga about $2,050.

Those gaps are enormous.

A tourist may pay more to sleep inside the Walled City, but an owner pays more than twice as much per m² there as in El Laguito, and close to three times as much as in Manga. The nightly-rate premium has to cover that much bigger purchase price before Centro produces the better return.

The same goes for Bocagrande. It is easy to rent, easy for tourists to understand and full of buildings with pools and sea views. Those advantages are already in the price.

So spend less time asking which neighborhood gets the highest Airbnb rate and more time asking how much booking revenue each dollar invested brings in.

Neighborhood	Asking price per m² (Aptologia, 22 Oct 2026)	In dollars	Airbnb reading
Centro Histórico	COP 18.5 million	~$5,800	Excellent guest location, hard yield
Castillogrande	COP 10.2 million	~$3,200	Expensive entry point
Bocagrande	COP 9.9 million	~$3,100	Proven demand, heavy competition
El Laguito	COP 8.5 million	~$2,650	Strong tourism/value compromise
El Cabrero	COP 8.4 million	~$2,650	Close to the tourist core
Crespo	COP 7 million	~$2,200	Beach and airport access, some aircraft noise
Manga	COP 6.5 million	~$2,050	Much lower entry price, more residential

Is Centro Histórico actually the best place for an Airbnb?

Centro Histórico is one of Cartagena's best places to stay as a tourist, but it is only one of the best Airbnb investments when the property itself is special.

Asking prices in Centro are around COP 18.5 million per m², or about $5,800.

At that price, an ordinary apartment has a hard job. It needs much more revenue than a comparable unit in El Laguito, El Cabrero or Manga just to produce the same percentage return.

Centro becomes interesting with properties tourists cannot easily swap for something else: restored colonial houses, private courtyards, rooftop terraces, pools and larger homes for families or groups. Those compete on experience, not just price.

Centro also needs extra legal checks. The city has already stopped short-term renting in a Historic Centre building after confirming that residential-only apartments were being offered to tourists.

We would pay a Centro premium for scarcity, architecture or an exceptional rental product. Paying it just for the postcode is harder to defend.

Is Bocagrande or El Laguito better for Airbnb today?

For pure Airbnb yield, El Laguito usually wins, because you buy noticeably cheaper while staying inside Cartagena's main beach-tourism zone.

Colombia Bound's October 2026 listings put El Laguito at a median $2,765 per m², about 16% below Bocagrande's $3,281. The gap is bigger on small units: a one-bedroom asks a median $145,000 in El Laguito against $290,000 in Bocagrande.

The two areas sit next to each other, so tourists looking for beach, sea views, pools and restaurants consider both. At the AirDNA average of $21,800, that $145,000 one-bedroom grosses about 15%, the $290,000 one about 7.5%. El Laguito does not need Bocagrande's nightly rate to win on return.

Bocagrande still has strengths: more restaurants and shops, a name every visitor knows and a deep resale market. Its gross long-term yield is about 5.9%, versus 6.8% in El Laguito (Colombia Bound).

El Laguito's main weakness is building quality. Older towers can mean higher maintenance, dated common areas and tired elevators.

Choose the building before choosing between the two neighborhoods. At similar quality, El Laguito gives an Airbnb investor more room to make the numbers work.

What do the 2026 Bocagrande beach and drainage works mean for Airbnb owners?

They should help Bocagrande over time, but they don't fix a bad building or a flooded street today.

The city handed over the rebuilt Playa 2 in Bocagrande on 6 September 2026. Phase 1 of the coastal protection was at 93% by then, and beaches 1 to 5 are due in April 2027. Later phases toward El Laguito are only proposed so far.

Flooding is the other issue. Heavy rain and high tides have flooded Bocagrande and Castillogrande streets for years. The COP 168 billion (about $52.6 million) "4 en 1" drainage scheme, with a 2.3 km network and four pumping stations, opened its first section on 14 October 2026; the rest is still under way.

The airport is also expanding toward 11 million passengers a year, but in September 2026 the transport ministry publicly asked for the works to speed up. No effect on rents or nightly rates can be measured yet.

What to check: ask the building administrator whether the street, garage or ground floor flooded in the last two rainy seasons, whether any extra assessment (cuota extraordinaria) is planned, and whether beach works sit right in front of the building, as noise and fences show up fast in reviews.

Can cheaper Cartagena neighborhoods make better Airbnbs?

Yes, when the price discount on the property is bigger than the discount tourists expect on the nightly rate.

Manga is the clearest example. Asking prices are about COP 6.5 million per m² (about $2,050), about a third below Bocagrande and roughly a third of Centro's level.

That gap changes the maths. A Manga apartment does not need anything close to Centro revenue to compete on yield. But Manga is mostly residential, so check that the building actually allows tourist stays.

El Cabrero is another compromise. At about $2,650 per m², it sits just outside the Historic Centre and near the sea.

Crespo is interesting for a different reason. It sits beside Rafael Núñez airport, has beach access and is close to Centro, at about $2,200 per m². That attracts short stays and visitors who value airport convenience; the trade-off is aircraft noise near the flight path.

Be more selective in these areas, because results vary much more from one street or building to the next. A cheap apartment deep in a residential area is not automatically an Airbnb bargain.

Buying the most famous tourist address can mean giving away too much yield before the first guest arrives.

Does Cartagena have a bad Airbnb low season?

Not a severe one. Cartagena has enough year-round demand that seasonality alone should not scare you off, although the best weeks bring in a big share of the year's revenue.

The city draws Colombian holidaymakers, international visitors, weddings, conferences, cultural events, cruise passengers (427,699 in the 2025-2026 cruise season) and weekend travelers.

AirROI's monthly data, which runs lower than AirDNA overall, shows the shape of the year: occupancy peaked at 48.0% in January 2026 with an average night of about COP 626,000 ($195), then dipped to 39.6% in May at about COP 563,000 ($175).

That is a much flatter year than in destinations that live off one summer season. Dynamic pricing still matters a lot. Losing a few ordinary Tuesday bookings is manageable; underpricing Christmas, New Year, Semana Santa or long weekends costs a real chunk of yearly profit.

So seasonality is a manageable part of the business. Poor pricing during peak periods is the bigger avoidable mistake.

Can your Cartagena condo building simply ban Airbnb?

Yes. A Cartagena apartment can be unusable for Airbnb even when short-term rentals operate legally next door.

Colombia requires tourist accommodation providers to hold an RNT for each unit. Inside a propiedad horizontal (condominium), the building's rules must also allow tourist use, and changing those bylaws needs 70% of the co-ownership coefficients (Ley 675, article 46). One owner cannot change them alone.

That detail can change the value of an apartment completely.

A seller or broker saying a tower is "Airbnb-friendly" is not enough. Ask for the Reglamento de Propiedad Horizontal, check the property's authorized use and confirm that the unit can legally operate as tourist accommodation.

Cartagena has shown these rules are enforced. At the Santo Domingo II building in Centro Histórico, the city's urban-control office confirmed that apartments were rented for under 30 days although their licences and building rules set residential use, and ordered the tourist activity to stop.

Airbnb permission belongs in your due diligence, before you calculate returns.

Question to verify before buying	What needs checking	Risk if ignored
Does the building permit tourist stays?	Reglamento de Propiedad Horizontal	Short stays may be prohibited
Is the property's approved use compatible?	Urban-use/licensing documents	Building approval may not be enough
Can the property obtain an RNT?	Registration eligibility	Tourist operation may be illegal
Is registration kept current?	RNT renewed between 1 January and 31 March	Ability to operate can lapse
Has the building already fought over Airbnb?	Meeting minutes and administrator	Future restrictions may be more likely

Is Cartagena actually cracking down on illegal Airbnb rentals?

Enough that we treat legal compliance as a real financial risk, though there is no citywide ban.

The Santo Domingo II case went beyond warnings. After complaints and an investigation, the city's urban-control office found that several apartments in the Historic Centre were rented to tourists despite residential-use rules, ordered the tourist use to stop and required the units to return to their approved residential purpose.

Inspections have continued in 2026. In August 2026 the city closed eight commercial establishments in Bocagrande, El Laguito and Centro for breaking local rules; these were businesses, not Airbnb apartments, but they show the tourist zones are being checked. City Hall also announced in November 2025 a draft decree for stays under 30 days (liability insurance, RNT, a land-use check and building approval); as far as we know it has not been issued yet.

National authorities are also watching. In July 2025, Colombia's Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio charged more than 40 accommodation providers after reviewing 452 complaints filed in 2024, including false statements about whether properties were under condominium rules and whether tourist use was allowed.

None of this means Cartagena wants to get rid of Airbnb. It means the city is separating legal tourist accommodation from apartments that were simply put online without the right approvals.

For fully compliant owners, stricter enforcement can remove some illegal competitors. For an investor who buys first and checks the building rules afterward, it can destroy the whole investment case.

What kind of Airbnb still works best in Cartagena?

The strongest ordinary Airbnb deal in Cartagena is a legally rentable apartment with a fairly low purchase price, useful amenities and a location tourists already understand.

For most individual investors, smaller units are easier. Studios, one-bedrooms and compact two-bedrooms cost less to buy, suit couples and small groups, and are cheaper to furnish and maintain.

Amenities matter more now because guests have so much choice. A pool, balcony, sea view, reliable air conditioning, fast Wi-Fi and an easy walk to restaurants or the beach can lift a listing above dozens of similar apartments.

The luxury end is a different game. A real colonial house with several bedrooms, a courtyard, rooftop terrace or pool can target large groups at rates far above the citywide $122 average. That is a specialized hospitality business, though, with a much bigger investment and workload.

For a normal apartment, avoid deals that need extraordinary performance. If the numbers only work at 75% occupancy or with nightly rates far above comparable listings, the price is too high.

How much should you pay for a Cartagena Airbnb?

For a Cartagena Airbnb earning around the citywide average, the numbers get thin once the price goes much beyond $200,000.

At AirDNA's $21,800 annual revenue, a $150,000 property starts at a 14.5% gross yield. At $200,000 it falls to 10.9%, at $250,000 to 8.7%, and at $300,000 to 7.3%.

If 60% of booking revenue survives running costs, those become about 8.7%, 6.5%, 5.2% and 4.4% before income tax. After the 35% non-resident tax, they drop to about 5.7%, 4.3%, 3.4% and 2.8%.

A remotely managed property can keep less than 60%, pushing those returns lower. And borrowing locally rarely helps: the average peso mortgage rate was 15.02% a year in September 2026, far above these yields, which is why most foreign buyers pay cash.

Between $150,000 and $200,000, an average property still has room to absorb mistakes. At $300,000, average revenue leaves almost nothing after tax.

A $300,000 unit can work, but it has to earn well above the city average. Ask for 12 months of real booking statements from comparable units before paying that price.

Purchase price	Gross yield at $21.8K revenue	60% remains, before tax	60% remains, after 35% tax	50% remains, after 35% tax
$150K	14.5%	8.7%	5.7%	4.7%
$175K	12.5%	7.5%	4.9%	4.0%
$200K	10.9%	6.5%	4.3%	3.5%
$225K	9.7%	5.8%	3.8%	3.1%
$250K	8.7%	5.2%	3.4%	2.8%
$300K	7.3%	4.4%	2.8%	2.4%

Does the strong peso change the Airbnb math in Cartagena?

Yes, and mostly against buyers coming in with dollars right now.

The dollar closed 2025 at about COP 3,757 and is now about COP 3,190 (official rate of 22 October 2026), so a dollar buys about 15% fewer pesos than at the start of the year. A COP 700 million apartment that cost about $186,000 at the end-2025 rate now costs about $219,000, roughly 18% more in dollars, with no change in the local price.

It also flatters the Airbnb data. AirDNA reports revenue in dollars, and the peso was weaker for most of the comparison period (the 2025 average was about COP 4,053). So the 18.0% fall in the dollar nightly rate probably hides an even bigger fall in pesos.

For an owner who already holds pesos or earns them, the strong peso is good news: rental income converts into more dollars. For a new buyer, it means paying more for the same apartment.

Don't buy on a bet that the peso will weaken again. Forecasts disagree (BBVA expected about COP 3,640 at the end of 2026, Bancolombia about 3,420 on average for 2026). Make the deal work at today's rate, and treat any rebound as a bonus.

Is Airbnb still worth it in Cartagena?

Yes, Airbnb is still worth it in Cartagena, but only buy when the property gives a good return without rising nightly rates or heroic occupancy.

Demand gives little reason to leave. The airport set a record in 2025 and is still growing in 2026, the peak season was busy, and AirDNA still shows average occupancy at 53%.

The hard part is pricing. Nightly rates are down 18.0% year over year and RevPAR is flat. Occupancy has improved because hosts sell more nights at lower prices. Don't build a case on rate growth from here.

Property prices create an even bigger divide. Centro asks about $5,800 per m², El Laguito about $2,650 and Manga about $2,050. Paying for the most prestigious address can wipe out the extra revenue that address brings.

Then come costs and tax. Management can take around 20% of revenue before platform fees, building fees, utilities and maintenance, and a non-resident then pays 35% on the profit. At $250,000 to $300,000, an average Airbnb ends up around 3% net, below what most investors would accept for this much work and risk.

The economics are much better around $150,000 to $200,000, in lower-priced tourist areas, or with a unit that clearly beats citywide revenue. El Laguito, El Cabrero, selected buildings in Manga and Crespo, and well-bought units in Bocagrande can all fit.

Legal status deserves the same attention as the spreadsheet. Cartagena has already stopped short-term rentals where building rules and residential licences banned them. Never value an apartment as an Airbnb until that permission is confirmed in writing.

Cartagena still works for Airbnb investors. The easy version is gone. The return now comes from buying the right unit at the right price, keeping costs under control and making sure it can legally compete for the city's still-large flow of tourists.