Lake Como vs Saint-Tropez: what does a villa really earn?
| What we measure | Lake Como | Saint-Tropez |
|---|---|---|
| Nightly rate, high season | €1,700 | €1,900 |
| Nightly rate, low season | €600 | €650 |
| Nights sold, high season | 60 | 45 |
| Nights sold, low season | 30 | 10 |
| Total nights sold per year | 90 | 55 |
| Gross annual income | €120,000 | €92,000 |
| What an agency takes | 35% | 35% |
| Net, self-managed on a platform | €101,000 | €77,700 |
| Net, through an agency | €78,000 | €59,800 |
All figures on this page are shown in euros, on both sides, so the two columns can be compared. The individual market pages show local currency.
The number that actually changes the answer
An agency in either market takes about 35% of what the guest pays, before a single bill is settled. Manage the villa yourself on a platform and you lose about 15.5%. On these numbers that is €101,000 net in Lake Como and €77,700 net in Saint-Tropez, self-managed. The fees also stack: an agency that then lists your villa on a platform hands the platform its cut too, and total commissions above 40% are common.
The two markets do not earn their money the same way
Lake Como sells 60 nights at €1,700 and 30 outside the peak. Saint-Tropez sells 45 at €1,900 and 10 outside it. Saint-Tropez is the fragile one. A year that rests on 55 sold nights has no margin for error: lose the two or three weeks everyone wants and the year is gone, and no amount of clever pricing in the shoulder season will bring it back. A market that sells many nights at a moderate rate is a structurally different asset, even when the annual total lands in the same place.
Because it is the most misleading number in this business, and it is the one every other site quotes. An occupancy rate of 50% sounds moderate. Multiply it by 365 and you have implied 182 nights sold. A seasonal villa does not sell 182 nights. It sells the weeks people want and stands empty the rest of the year, and nobody is even trying to rent it in November. The occupancy model overstates seasonal markets by roughly a factor of two. We count nights actually sold, and nothing else.
What we know here, and what we are still estimating
The Saint-Tropez figures were confirmed by an operator who ran villas there, set the prices and paid the staff. The Lake Como figures are still our estimate, built from comparable markets and public rate data, and we say so rather than pretend to a certainty we do not have. If you own in Lake Como, tell us what you actually earned and this page gets better.
Which of the two is your villa in?
Three questions and we will tell you what yours specifically can earn, not what the market average earns. Free, and free permanently.
Estimate my villa →Questions owners ask about these two markets
Does a luxury villa earn more in Lake Como or in Saint-Tropez?
Lake Como, by about 30%. Roughly €120,000 a year in Lake Como against €92,000 in Saint-Tropez, for the same well-maintained 4-bedroom villa, professionally marketed. That is gross. What reaches your account depends on whether you self-manage or hand it to an agency, and the gap between those two outcomes is larger than the gap between these two markets.
How many nights a year does a villa actually rent in Lake Como and Saint-Tropez?
About 90 in Lake Como and 55 in Saint-Tropez, on our benchmark. Nights sold, not occupancy. We never quote an occupancy percentage because multiplying one by 365 flatters a seasonal market by roughly a factor of two: the villa is not on the market for most of the year, and nobody is trying to sell it in November.
Is Lake Como or Saint-Tropez the better investment?
This page cannot tell you, and anyone who claims it can is selling you something. Rental income is one half of a yield. The purchase price is the other half, and it varies more between two streets than it does between two countries. A high gross on a very expensive property is frequently a worse investment than a modest gross on a cheap one. Get both numbers before you decide.
What does an agency take in Lake Como compared to Saint-Tropez?
About 35% in Lake Como and about 35% in Saint-Tropez, of everything the guest pays, before a single bill is settled. Self-managing on a platform costs about 15.5%. Nobody publishes these figures because every party in the chain benefits from the owner not knowing them. Our team has worked both sides of that trade, which is how we know.
Estimates are based on destination benchmarks and property attributes, not on a formal appraisal. Amounts are shown in local currency using approximate conversion rates. Actual results depend on marketing, pricing strategy and seasonality. Last updated 16/07/2026.