Get all the data you need about the real estate market in Colombia
SUMMARY
Airbnb is still worth it in Colombia, but only selectively: the strongest buys now are legally authorized properties bought at sensible prices, with real guest demand and a fallback rental use if nightly stays weaken.
Tourism demand is not the problem. Colombia is still receiving enough international and domestic travelers to support several distinct short-term-rental markets at the same time.
The biggest headline revenue gains are partly a supply story. Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena all show sharp drops in active listings, so higher revenue per active listing should not be read as if every host suddenly became dramatically more profitable.
RevPAR tells a more useful story than revenue growth alone. Bogotá has improved materially, Medellín has moved forward more modestly, while Cartagena is filling more nights without improving revenue per available night.
The cities now reward different strategies. Medellín is strongest for steady occupancy, Cartagena for pricing power, Bogotá for recent operating momentum, and San Andrés for raw vacation-rental performance.
Falling ADR is the clearest pressure point. Several markets are maintaining occupancy by discounting, which can make a listing look busy while leaving the owner with only a small improvement in actual economics.
Acquisition price now matters as much as operating performance. Cartagena shows this best: the same $21,500 of annual revenue looks compelling on a $200,000 purchase and much less impressive on a $400,000 one.
Regulation has moved from a paperwork issue to an investment issue. In places such as Medellín, building rules, land use, authorized property use, RNT registration and guest-reporting obligations can decide whether a unit is genuinely Airbnb-capable.
Gross revenue is a weak proxy for profit once platform fees, management, administration, utilities, cleaning, repairs, furniture turnover and taxes are included. The margin for a mediocre purchase is thinner than the booking dashboard suggests.
The best properties now have optionality. A unit that can work for nightly stays, one- to three-month furnished rentals and conventional tenants is much safer than one that only makes sense under an optimistic Airbnb forecast.
For foreign investors, Colombia still offers attractive entry prices and proven short-term-rental demand, but remote ownership adds another layer of cost and execution risk. Airbnb remains investable; the passive version of the strategy is what has largely disappeared.
Thinking of buying real estate in Colombia?
Acquiring property in a different country is a complex task. Don't fall into common traps – grab our guide and make better decisions.
Is Colombia still attracting enough travelers for Airbnb?
Yes. Colombia currently has more than enough tourism demand to support a large Airbnb market, so a shortage of visitors is not what should worry investors.
The latest Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism figures show that Colombia has received more than 24 million non-resident visitors since August 2022. That includes 14.8 million foreign visitors, and the ministry's newest tourism reports still describe international tourism as one of the country's fastest-growing service exports.
The visitor base is now large enough to support several different Airbnb markets at once. Bogotá gets business travelers, events and international arrivals. Medellín attracts leisure visitors and longer-stay foreigners. Cartagena has much stronger holiday pricing. Santa Marta and San Andrés add beach demand.
So we can rule out one of the simplest bearish arguments. Airbnb in Colombia is not struggling because travelers stopped coming. What has become harder is turning those visitors into a good return on a property bought at today's prices.
Are Airbnb revenues in Colombia really booming right now?
Partly. Airbnb revenue per active listing has jumped in several Colombian cities, but those huge growth percentages make the market look much stronger than the underlying economics really are.
AirDNA's latest completed market data shows average annual revenue per active listing up 92.4% year over year in Medellín, 185.3% in Bogotá and 59.5% in Cartagena. Those numbers sound extraordinary.
At the same time, active supply fell 41.6% in Medellín, 34.4% in Bogotá and 38.3% in Cartagena. Across those three large markets, that is roughly 14,600 fewer active listings than we would have seen if the previous year's listing counts had simply held steady.
That changes how we should read the revenue numbers. Revenue is being divided across a much smaller active pool, while occupancy has also improved. Some weak, inactive or non-compliant supply has disappeared from the measured market.
RevPAR gives us a cleaner picture of what happened to the average available night. Medellín's RevPAR rose 8.3%. Bogotá's rose 33.3%. Cartagena's fell 1.9%.
Bogotá is showing genuine operating improvement. Medellín is doing better, but nowhere near the +92% headline suggests. Cartagena's average available night is actually earning slightly less than it did a year earlier.
| Market | Active listings | Listings YoY | Revenue/listing YoY | RevPAR YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medellín | 14,021 | -41.6% | +92.4% | +8.3% |
| Bogotá | 14,108 | -34.4% | +185.3% | +33.3% |
| Cartagena | 9,777 | -38.3% | +59.5% | -1.9% |
Don't buy the wrong property, in the wrong area of Colombia
Buying real estate is a significant investment. Don't rely solely on your intuition. Gather the right information to make the best decision.
Which Colombian cities look best for Airbnb today?
Medellín currently looks strongest for steady occupancy, Cartagena for nightly pricing, Bogotá for recent operating momentum and San Andrés for raw vacation-rental performance.
AirDNA currently puts Medellín at 63% occupancy, a $71 average daily rate and roughly $15,500 in annual revenue per active listing. That combination works because demand is relatively steady rather than concentrated into a short high season.
Cartagena reaches the same $63 RevPAR with a very different model. Occupancy is only 53%, but its $119 average nightly rate is far above Medellín's. The average active Cartagena listing earns about $21,500 a year.
Bogotá is the low-price, high-utilization market. Occupancy is about 61%, while ADR is only $39. Average annual revenue is roughly $8,300, although Bogotá's recent improvement in RevPAR has been much stronger than in the other large cities.
San Andrés currently combines 63% occupancy with roughly $99 ADR and around $21,300 in annual revenue. It is one of the strongest markets on paper, although island logistics and the smaller property market make it a more specialized investment.
The cheaper secondary cities require much more price discipline. Santa Marta currently sits near 46% occupancy and $71 ADR, while Cali and Barranquilla have lower nightly rates. They can still work when the property is cheap enough, but there is less room for an expensive purchase or costly management.
| Market | Occupancy | ADR | RevPAR | Annual revenue/listing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Andrés | 63% | $99 | ~$63 | ~$21,300 |
| Cartagena | 53% | $119 | $63 | $21,500 |
| Medellín | 63% | $71 | $45 | $15,500 |
| Santa Marta | 46% | $71 | ~$33 | ~$10,900 |
| Bogotá | 61% | $39 | $24 | $8,300 |
| Barranquilla | 51% | $48 | ~$24 | ~$8,500 |
| Cali | 54% | $38 | ~$20 | ~$7,000 |
Is Medellín still one of the best Airbnb markets in Colombia?
Yes, but Medellín Airbnb now makes the most sense when the building is clearly authorized for tourist use and the purchase price still leaves room for a decent return.
Medellín's demand remains hard to dismiss. Current short-term rentals average about 63% occupancy, and AirDNA gives the city an unusually high seasonality score, meaning revenue is relatively stable across the year.
The weaker part is pricing. ADR has fallen 16.9% year over year to about $71. Higher occupancy has kept RevPAR moving upward, but only by 8.3%. Hosts are filling more nights partly by accepting lower prices.
The regulatory environment has also become much harder to ignore. Medellín has stepped up inspections in high-rental areas including El Poblado. Recent municipal operations produced dozens of technical reports involving possible urban-planning violations and properties operating without the correct authorization.
The city now tells operators to verify the building's propiedad horizontal rules, land-use compatibility, the authorized use of the property, Registro Nacional de Turismo registration, RUT, commercial registration and guest-reporting requirements.
For someone buying now, we would check those items before evaluating the furniture, view or projected nightly rate. A beautiful apartment that cannot legally operate as tourist accommodation can become a very ordinary long-term rental overnight.
| Medellín metric | Current reading |
|---|---|
| Occupancy | 63% |
| ADR | $71 |
| RevPAR | $45 |
| Annual revenue/listing | $15,500 |
| ADR YoY | -16.9% |
| RevPAR YoY | +8.3% |
| Active listings | 14,021 |
Get to know the market before buying a property in Colombia
Better information leads to better decisions. Get all the data you need before investing a large amount of money.
Is Cartagena Airbnb still worth its high property prices?
Sometimes. Cartagena can produce Colombia's strongest mainland Airbnb revenue, but expensive tourist property can absorb most of that advantage before the owner earns anything.
The current operating numbers are good at first glance. Cartagena averages about $119 per booked night and roughly $21,500 in annual revenue per active listing.
Property prices create the tension. Current asking-price datasets put the citywide apartment market at roughly $2,500 to $2,600 per square meter, while Bocagrande is commonly closer to $3,300 to $3,500. Historic-center property can move above $5,000 per square meter.
Take a simple example. If an investor pays $200,000 for a property that earns the citywide Airbnb average of $21,500, gross revenue equals about 10.8% of the purchase price.
At $400,000, the same revenue equals just 5.4%.
Those figures are not projected yields for a specific apartment because an expensive property may earn far more than the city average. They show how quickly Cartagena's Airbnb advantage disappears when the acquisition price doubles.
There is another warning in the latest data. Cartagena occupancy has risen 16.9%, yet ADR has fallen 19.9%. RevPAR is down slightly. Hosts are booking more nights without getting more revenue from each available night.
We would still buy Cartagena for Airbnb when the property itself proves the case. We would be much more cautious about paying a large premium simply because the address says Bocagrande, Centro or the historic district.
| Cartagena benchmark | Current level |
|---|---|
| Airbnb occupancy | 53% |
| Airbnb ADR | $119 |
| RevPAR | $63 |
| Annual revenue/listing | $21,500 |
| ADR YoY | -19.9% |
| RevPAR YoY | -1.9% |
| Citywide asking price/m² | ~$2,500–$2,600 |
| Bocagrande asking price/m² | ~$3,300–$3,500 |
Is Bogotá Airbnb better than most investors assume?
Yes. Bogotá currently looks more interesting than its $39 nightly rate suggests because occupancy is high and the market has improved much faster than Medellín or Cartagena over the past year.
Current Airbnb occupancy in Bogotá is around 61%. That is only two percentage points below Medellín despite Bogotá being much less associated with leisure tourism.
Its recent numbers are also unusually strong. ADR is basically flat year over year, while occupancy is up about one-third. That pushed RevPAR up 33.3%.
The demand mix helps explain why Bogotá behaves differently. International arrivals feed the market, but so do corporate travel, conventions, government activity, universities, medical visits and domestic business trips. A host does not have to wait for holiday travelers to fill the calendar.
The limitation is obvious once we look at the $39 ADR. There is much less room for inefficient operations. Paying 20% for management, carrying high building fees or servicing an expensive mortgage can destroy the economics quickly.
That makes Bogotá especially interesting for compact units bought cheaply near a clear demand source. A modest apartment near a hospital, business district, university or event venue can make more sense than a much nicer property bought with no specific guest in mind.
Buying real estate in Colombia can be risky
An increasing number of foreign investors are showing interest. However, 90% of them will make mistakes. Avoid the pitfalls with our comprehensive guide.
Are falling Airbnb nightly rates becoming a problem in Colombia?
Yes. Lower Airbnb nightly rates are one of the clearest warnings in Colombia right now because several markets are filling more beds without gaining much pricing power.
Medellín's average daily rate is down 16.9% year over year. Cartagena's is down 19.9%. Santa Marta's is down roughly 17%, while Cali and Barranquilla have also recorded double-digit declines.
Occupancy moved the other way.
That combination tells us hosts are increasingly using price to fill calendars. Sometimes that still works. Medellín's occupancy gain was large enough to push RevPAR higher. Cartagena was not as fortunate: stronger occupancy failed to offset the drop in nightly rates.
This is why a 70% occupancy screenshot can be misleading. Ten extra booked nights at a much lower rate also mean more cleaning, guest communication, linen turnover and wear on the property.
We would rather own a property producing $60 of RevPAR at moderate occupancy than one boasting very high occupancy while discounting aggressively to reach it. The second listing can look busier while producing a worse business.
Is Airbnb competition in Colombia getting easier now that listings are disappearing?
For good operators, probably. Colombia still has tens of thousands of short-term rentals, but the active market is becoming less forgiving of weak properties and casual hosts.
The three biggest markets alone currently contain almost 38,000 active listings. There is still plenty of competition.
Yet the sharp contraction in active listings is too large to ignore. As seen above, Medellín, Bogotá and Cartagena have each lost roughly one-third or more of their measured active supply over the past year.
We should be careful with the interpretation. AirDNA can remove inactive properties, duplicate inventory and listings that no longer meet its activity criteria, so a falling listing count does not mean every missing host went bankrupt.
Still, the direction fits what we are seeing elsewhere. Medellín is inspecting tourist accommodation more aggressively. Building administrations are paying more attention to short stays. Guests have years of reviews to compare. Professional operators can optimize pricing and distribution across Airbnb, Booking.com and other channels.
An average apartment with average photos and no clear advantage has a harder time surviving now.
For owners who know what they are doing, that filtering can actually improve the market. Less serious supply means fewer competitors fighting purely on price.
Don't lose money on your property in Colombia
100% of people who have lost money there have spent less than 1 hour researching the market. We have reviewed everything there is to know. Grab our guide now.
Can you legally run an Airbnb in Colombia today?
Yes, Airbnb is legal in Colombia, but the right to own an apartment and the right to use that apartment for tourist accommodation are separate questions.
Short tourist stays fall under Colombia's tourism rules. Operators generally need an active Registro Nacional de Turismo and must renew it each year during the official renewal period.
Buildings governed by propiedad horizontal create another layer. The building rules need to allow tourist accommodation. A unit inside a residential building that prohibits short stays cannot simply ignore that restriction because the owner has an Airbnb account.
Guest registration matters too. Tourism-accommodation operators use the national lodging-registration system, and foreign visitors can trigger SIRE reporting requirements.
Cities can add their own land-use and planning rules. Medellín currently makes this especially visible by asking operators to check whether tourist activity is compatible with the property's land use and authorized use.
We would therefore never accept “Airbnb is allowed in Colombia” as enough due diligence for a specific purchase. The useful question is whether Airbnb is allowed in that exact building and property.
| Check before buying | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Registro Nacional de Turismo | Required for legal tourist accommodation |
| Propiedad horizontal rules | Building must permit tourist use |
| Local land use | City rules can restrict lodging activity |
| Authorized property use | Residential authorization may be insufficient |
| RUT and tax setup | Needed for compliant operation |
| Guest registration | Accommodation providers have reporting duties |
| SIRE | Relevant when hosting foreign guests |
How much of Airbnb revenue do fees and costs eat up in Colombia?
A lot. Colombian Airbnb owners can lose a meaningful share of gross booking revenue before mortgage payments or income tax even enter the picture.
Airbnb's own fee structure is one place where old assumptions can cause mistakes. Many traditional hosts have used a split-fee model under which roughly 3% comes from the host side. Professional and software-connected hosts increasingly use Airbnb's host-only structure, which commonly puts the platform charge around 15.5% on the host.
Management can be larger again. Full-service short-term-rental managers commonly charge a double-digit share of booking revenue, with 15% to 25% a useful broad industry range depending on the service.
Then we have building administration, electricity, water, internet, repairs, furniture replacement, linen, consumables, insurance and cleaning expenses that are not always fully recovered from the guest.
Taxes need case-by-case treatment. Colombia treats tourist accommodation differently from a normal residential lease, and DIAN rules can involve VAT and income-tax obligations depending on the owner, guest and legal structure. Certain tourism services supplied to qualifying non-residents can receive special VAT treatment, but an investor should not assume that every foreign booking is automatically tax-free.
A property earning $20,000 from bookings can therefore produce a very different amount in the owner's bank account. Gross Airbnb revenue is useful for comparing listings; it is a poor substitute for calculating profit.
| Cost | Typical effect |
|---|---|
| Airbnb platform | Often ~3% split-fee or ~15.5% host-only |
| Professional management | Commonly double-digit % of revenue |
| Building administration | Fixed monthly cost |
| Utilities/internet | Usually owner-paid |
| Furnishing and repairs | Higher turnover than long-term rental |
| Cleaning | Depends on what guests reimburse |
| Taxes | Depends on operating structure |
Get the full checklist for your due diligence in Colombia
Don't repeat the same mistakes others have made before you. Make sure everything is in order before signing your sales contract.
Does Airbnb still beat long-term renting in Colombia?
Sometimes, although the Airbnb premium has to be fairly large before the extra work and costs make sense. For many properties, a 30- to 90-day furnished rental is now the more interesting middle ground.
Suppose a conventional lease produces a 6% gross yield and Airbnb produces 8%. A two-percentage-point gap sounds worthwhile until we add utilities, furniture, platform charges, management, cleaning and higher maintenance.
The Airbnb option becomes much easier to defend when the gap is something like 12% gross versus 5% or 6% on a normal lease.
This is particularly relevant in expensive tourist neighborhoods. Medellín and Cartagena investors can pay a premium for an Airbnb-friendly location, only to discover that the purchase price has risen faster than the income advantage.
Medium-term rentals change the calculation. A furnished guest staying one to three months creates fewer check-ins, cleanings and service issues while still paying more than a conventional unfurnished tenant in many areas.
Colombia's tourism rules also make the length of stay important. Tourist housing rules focus heavily on stays shorter than 30 days, although the legal treatment of any specific rental setup still needs to be checked properly.
For us, the safest property now has more than one workable use. If nightly Airbnb slows down, the same apartment should still attract a one-month guest, a three-month guest or a conventional tenant at an acceptable return.
What kind of property works best for Airbnb in Colombia now?
The strongest Airbnb purchase in Colombia today is usually a reasonably priced property with clear tourist-use permission, a specific guest base and a good fallback rental market.
Legal permission comes first. Paying slightly more for a building where tourist rentals are explicitly allowed can be much safer than buying a cheaper apartment and hoping nobody enforces the rules.
Size matters too. Smaller apartments can appeal to couples, solo travelers, business visitors and medium-term guests while keeping the purchase price manageable. Large units can work extremely well in group-travel markets such as Cartagena, but the acquisition cost rises quickly.
Location should also answer a simple question: who needs to stay here?
In Medellín, that might mean a traveler wanting El Poblado or Laureles. Bogotá properties can target hospitals, universities, offices or event venues. Cartagena needs much stronger leisure appeal because guests are paying for access to the historic center, beaches or recognizable tourist areas.
We would also test whether expensive amenities genuinely earn more money. A rooftop, pool or view can lift nightly rates, but paying another $80,000 for those features only works if the resulting revenue justifies the extra capital.
A property's return ultimately comes from the relationship between what guests pay and what we paid to own the asset. A spectacular apartment bought too expensively can still be a poor Airbnb investment.
Don't sign a document you don't understand in Colombia
Buying a property over there? We have reviewed all the documents you need to know. Stay out of trouble - grab our comprehensive guide.
Is Airbnb in Colombia still worth it for a foreign investor?
Yes, for a foreign investor who is comfortable running Colombia Airbnb like a real hospitality investment. It is much less attractive as a passive “buy an apartment and collect dollars” strategy.
Foreign buyers still have several reasons to look at Colombia. Property remains inexpensive compared with many North American and European tourism markets. Medellín, Cartagena, Bogotá and San Andrés all have proven short-term-rental demand. A weak Colombian peso can also lower the entry price for investors holding dollars or euros.
Remote ownership adds friction, though. A foreign investor often depends more heavily on a local manager, accountant, lawyer and maintenance team. Currency movements can change returns measured in dollars or euros even when the property's peso income remains stable.
We would also be suspicious of any sales presentation built around a single projected Airbnb yield. Before buying, we would want actual comparable listings, building rules, evidence that tourist use is permitted, administration costs, realistic operating expenses and a second rental scenario.
The foreign buyer with the biggest advantage is the one who can walk away from properties that only work under optimistic assumptions.
So, is Airbnb still worth it in Colombia?
Yes, selectively. Airbnb in Colombia is still worth it today, but the easy version of the investment has largely disappeared.
Tourism demand remains strong, and several markets still produce respectable operating numbers. Medellín runs around 63% occupancy, Bogotá around 61%, and Cartagena can command roughly $119 per booked night.
At the same time, the newest market data is telling us to be more careful. Nightly rates have fallen sharply in several cities. Cartagena's RevPAR has slipped despite stronger occupancy. Medellín's regulatory enforcement is more visible. Prime tourist apartments can be expensive enough to wipe out the return advantage. Platform and management costs also punish owners who underwrite from gross revenue.
The best Airbnb investments in Colombia now tend to share the same characteristics: clear legal permission, a sensible purchase price, real demand from a specific type of guest and the ability to switch into medium- or long-term rental if needed.
Buy one of those properties well and Airbnb can still produce an attractive return.
Pay a tourism premium for an ordinary apartment, assume high occupancy automatically means high profit and rely on Airbnb remaining frictionless, and the numbers become much harder to defend.
Get fresh and reliable information about the market in Colombia
Don't base significant investment decisions on outdated data. Get updated and accurate information.
OUR METHODOLOGY
This analysis tests whether Airbnb is still worth it in Colombia by separating the investment case into the factors that can actually change the answer: tourism demand, short-term-rental performance, city-by-city differences, acquisition prices, competition, regulation, operating costs and fallback rental options.
We prioritized recent data and sources closest to the underlying information. Tourism demand was checked against official Colombian tourism and central-bank material, while operating performance was compared across AirDNA market pages for Medellín, Bogotá, Cartagena, San Andrés, Santa Marta, Cali and Barranquilla.
We did not rely on revenue growth by itself. Occupancy was read alongside ADR and RevPAR, revenue per active listing was considered alongside changes in active supply, and strong Airbnb income was tested against the price required to buy the property. That is especially important in Cartagena, where a strong nightly market can still produce a mediocre investment if the acquisition price is too high.
Regulation was treated as part of the investment economics rather than as a separate legal footnote. We checked the national Registro Nacional de Turismo framework, the rules affecting tourist housing, Medellín's current enforcement guidance and Migración Colombia's SIRE reporting requirements. Airbnb's own host-fee documentation was used for the platform-cost assumptions.
For property pricing, we used current asking-price data rather than presenting listing prices as completed transaction prices. The Cartagena market comparisons therefore use TuLugar as an asking-price benchmark, not as evidence of final sale values.
Key sources used for this analysis include: Colombia's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism on non-resident visitor growth, Banco de la República on travel and tourism service exports, AirDNA's Medellín market data, AirDNA's Bogotá market data, AirDNA's Cartagena market data, AirDNA's San Andrés market data, AirDNA's Santa Marta market data, AirDNA's Cali market data, AirDNA's Barranquilla market data, TuLugar's Cartagena asking-price dataset, MinCIT on the Registro Nacional de Turismo, Decree 1836 of 2021, Colombia's legal framework for tourist housing, the Alcaldía de Medellín on short-term-rental enforcement, Migración Colombia on SIRE reporting, and Airbnb's host service-fee documentation.
Get to know the market before buying a property in Colombia
Better information leads to better decisions. Get all the data you need before investing a large amount of money.
Related blog posts
- Is Airbnb still worth it in Colombia?
- How much is rent in Colombia now?
- Is buying property to rent out in Colombia still worth it?
- What rental yield can you get in Colombia now?
