Are Airbnb rentals in Cluj-Napoca a good idea? (2026)

Authored by the expert who managed and guided the team behind the Romania Property Pack

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Jae Seok An

Founder, Airbtics

Jae Seok An is the Founder & Data Scientist at Airbtics, a short-term rental analytics platform helping investors, hosts, and property managers analyze Airbnb markets, revenue potential, occupancy, and pricing trends using data-driven insights.

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INVESTROPA

A team specialized in real estate investing in European countries

We are a team of financial experts, legal professionals, developers, and local real estate specialists dedicated to helping people like you avoid mistakes when investing in real estate in a foreign place, particularly in Cluj-Napoca. If you’d like to learn more about us, you can check our presentation page.

Can I legally run an Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

Is short-term renting allowed in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, short-term renting is generally allowed in Cluj-Napoca, but an Airbnb apartment should be treated as tourist accommodation rather than as a casual private lease.

The main legal framework for short-term rentals in Cluj-Napoca is Romania’s national tourist accommodation classification system, mainly linked to Order 65/2013 and the Ministry of Tourism classification certificate.

The most important condition for a Cluj-Napoca Airbnb host is to obtain the proper tourist accommodation classification for the apartment and to display the classification certificate as required.

In practice, Cluj-Napoca Airbnb hosts should also check tax reporting, fire and safety conditions, building rules, neighbors, condominium association rules and platform requirements before accepting guests.

The usual consequence of operating an unclassified or non-compliant Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca is not just a fine risk, because a platform or authority may also require correction, removal or proof of registration.

For a more general view, you can read our article detailing what exactly foreigners can own and buy in Romania.

If you are an American, you might want to read our blog article detailing the property rights of US citizens in Romania.

Are there minimum-stay rules and maximum nights-per-year caps for Airbnbs in Cluj-Napoca as of 2026?

As of early 2026, we found no clear citywide minimum-stay rule and no annual maximum nights-per-year cap for Airbnb listings in Cluj-Napoca.

This means there is no identified Cluj-Napoca restriction that applies only to studios, 1-bedroom apartments, 2-bedroom apartments, larger apartments, primary homes, secondary homes or investor-owned homes.

Even without a night cap, a Cluj-Napoca Airbnb host should still keep booking records, income records and platform statements because Romanian tax and EU data-sharing rules make activity easier to trace.

Do I have to live there, or can I Airbnb a secondary home in Cluj-Napoca right now?

You do not appear to need to live in the property to run an Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca in 2026.

A secondary apartment or investment apartment can usually be used for short-term rental in Cluj-Napoca if it meets the tourist classification, tax and building-compliance requirements.

For a non-primary residence Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca, the key practical condition is still the classification certificate, plus clear tax reporting and a check that the building does not create problems for tourist use.

The main difference is therefore operational rather than local zoning-based, because a primary home and a secondary home both need compliance when the apartment is offered repeatedly to guests.

Can I run multiple Airbnbs under one name in Cluj-Napoca right now?

One owner can generally operate multiple Airbnb listings in Cluj-Napoca in 2026, as long as each unit is properly classified, reported and managed.

We found no clear Cluj-Napoca rule that sets a fixed maximum number of Airbnb properties one person can list.

However, multiple Cluj-Napoca Airbnb units make the activity look more like a small hospitality business, so the host should expect more formal tax, accounting and consumer-protection scrutiny.

Do I need a short-term rental license or a business registration to host in Cluj-Napoca as of 2026?

As of early 2026, a Cluj-Napoca Airbnb host should assume that the apartment needs a Romanian tourism classification certificate, which works like the main license-like requirement for tourist accommodation.

The normal process is to prepare the classification file, submit the required documents to the tourism authority and wait for confirmation before treating the apartment as fully compliant.

The usual documents may include ownership or use documents, identification or business/tax documents, a classification request, safety-related paperwork and details about the apartment’s facilities.

Airbnb’s Romania guidance says the classification certificate application itself does not require a fee, but owners should still budget for document preparation, possible building fixes, accounting and professional advice.

Are there neighborhood bans or restricted zones for Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca as of 2026?

As of early 2026, we found no clear Airbnb-specific neighborhood ban or restricted zone for Cluj-Napoca neighborhoods such as Centru, Mărăști, Gheorgheni, Zorilor, Mănăștur, Plopilor, Bună Ziua, Grigorescu, Între Lacuri or Iris.

The real restriction risk in these Cluj-Napoca neighborhoods is more likely to come from the building, neighbors, noise, parking, access, safety rules or whether the apartment can meet tourist-accommodation standards.

How much can an Airbnb earn in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

What's the average and median nightly price on Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, the estimated average nightly price for an Airbnb listing in Cluj-Napoca is about 365 to 445 lei, or roughly $80 to $95 and €70 to €85, while the median booked rate is closer to 305 to 340 lei, or about $67 to $75 and €58 to €65.

For normal residential Airbnb listings in Cluj-Napoca, about 80% of nightly prices usually fall between 235 and 575 lei, or roughly $50 to $125 and €45 to €110.

The single biggest pricing factor in Cluj-Napoca is location during strong demand periods, especially whether the apartment is easy for guests visiting Centru, Cluj Arena, Central Park, Iulius Mall, hospitals, universities or major festivals.

By the way, you will find much more detailed rent ranges in our property pack covering the real estate market in Cluj-Napoca.

How much do nightly prices vary by neighborhood in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, nightly Airbnb prices in Cluj-Napoca vary from about 210 lei, or $45 and €40, in more affordable areas such as Iris and parts of Mănăștur to about 630 lei, or $140 and €120, for strong apartments in Centru during normal high-demand periods.

The three highest average nightly price areas in Cluj-Napoca are Centru at about 390 to 630 lei, or $85 to $140 and €75 to €120, Plopilor at about 340 to 525 lei, or $75 to $115 and €65 to €100, and Andrei Mureșanu or central Zorilor at about 340 to 525 lei, or $75 to $115 and €65 to €100.

The three lower-priced Airbnb areas in Cluj-Napoca are Iris at about 210 to 340 lei, or $45 to $75 and €40 to €65, Mănăștur at about 235 to 340 lei, or $50 to $75 and €45 to €65, and some outer parts of Mărăști at about 260 to 420 lei, or $55 to $90 and €50 to €80, and guests still choose them when the apartment is cheaper, practical or close to transport.

What's the typical occupancy rate in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, a realistic typical occupancy rate for a properly managed Airbnb apartment in Cluj-Napoca is about 48% across the year.

Most Cluj-Napoca Airbnb listings should be expected to fall between about 35% and 60% occupancy, with weak listings below that and top listings clearly above it.

Compared with Romania as a whole, Cluj-Napoca has a stronger short-term rental demand base than many ordinary Romanian cities because it has universities, medical demand, business travel, festivals and one of the country’s busiest regional airports.

The single biggest factor for above-average occupancy in Cluj-Napoca is not just price, but a low-friction apartment with self check-in, strong reviews, good cleaning, air conditioning and a location guests immediately understand.

What's the average monthly revenue per listing in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, the estimated average monthly revenue per Airbnb listing in Cluj-Napoca is about 3,400 to 3,900 lei, or roughly $750 to $860 and €650 to €750.

A realistic monthly revenue range covering about 80% of residential Airbnb listings in Cluj-Napoca is about 1,800 to 6,800 lei, or roughly $400 to $1,500 and €350 to €1,300.

Top Airbnb listings in Cluj-Napoca can reach about 6,800 to 9,400 lei per strong month, or roughly $1,500 to $2,050 and €1,300 to €1,800, especially during festival season.

A quick calculation is simple: an Airbnb apartment in Cluj-Napoca charging €85 per night at 55% occupancy earns about €1,400 in gross monthly revenue before cleaning fees, platform fees, taxes and operating costs.

Finally, note that we give here all the information you need to buy and rent out a property in Cluj-Napoca.

What's the typical low-season vs high-season monthly revenue in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, a normal Cluj-Napoca Airbnb apartment can make about 1,800 to 2,900 lei in low season, or roughly $400 to $650 and €350 to €550, versus about 4,500 to 7,300 lei in high season, or roughly $1,000 to $1,600 and €850 to €1,400.

Low season in Cluj-Napoca is usually January, February and parts of November, while high season is usually June, July and August because TIFF, Electric Castle spillover and UNTOLD add strong event demand.

What's a realistic Airbnb monthly expense range in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, a realistic monthly expense range for operating an Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca is about 1,600 to 2,900 lei, or roughly $350 to $650 and €300 to €550, excluding mortgage, income tax and major renovation costs.

The largest regular expense for a Cluj-Napoca Airbnb is usually cleaning and laundry, which can reach about 630 to 1,150 lei per month, or roughly $140 to $250 and €120 to €220, when turnover is frequent.

Hosts in Cluj-Napoca should typically expect operating expenses to absorb about 40% to 60% of gross revenue if self-managed, and more if professional management is used.

If you want to go into more details, we also have a blog article detailing all the property taxes and fees in Cluj-Napoca.

What's realistic monthly net profit and profit per available night for Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, realistic monthly net profit for a self-managed Cluj-Napoca Airbnb is about 1,050 to 2,350 lei, or roughly $230 to $520 and €200 to €450, while profit per available night is about 35 to 80 lei, or $8 to $18 and €7 to €15.

Most Cluj-Napoca Airbnb listings should be expected to land between break-even and about 3,100 lei monthly net profit, or roughly $0 to $700 and €0 to €600, before mortgage, income tax and major repairs.

A normal self-managed Airbnb apartment in Cluj-Napoca often reaches a net profit margin of about 25% to 40%, but outsourced management can reduce that margin quickly.

The break-even occupancy rate for a typical Cluj-Napoca Airbnb is often around 30% to 38%, depending on nightly price, cleaning costs, utilities, furnishing quality and how many fixed costs the owner carries.

In our property pack covering the real estate market in Cluj-Napoca, we explain the best strategies to improve your cashflows.

How competitive is Airbnb in Cluj-Napoca as of 2026?

How many active Airbnb listings are in Cluj-Napoca as of 2026?

As of early 2026, a strong estimate is that Cluj-Napoca has about 1,300 to 1,500 active short-term rental listings, with a broader scraped universe that can look higher if inactive or low-availability units are included.

Compared with the previous year, Cluj-Napoca Airbnb supply appears to have grown moderately, and the longer trend is a move from spare rooms toward more professional entire-apartment listings.

Which neighborhoods are most saturated in Cluj-Napoca as of 2026?

As of early 2026, the most saturated Airbnb neighborhoods in Cluj-Napoca are Centru, Mărăști, Gheorgheni, Zorilor, Plopilor and the Iulius Mall and Între Lacuri area.

These Cluj-Napoca neighborhoods are saturated because they combine apartment density with clear guest reasons to book, such as nightlife, universities, hospitals, offices, malls, transport and festival access.

Relatively less saturated Cluj-Napoca opportunities may exist in Grigorescu, Bună Ziua, selected parts of Mănăștur and selected airport-access areas, but only when the apartment offers parking, comfort or a clear value advantage.

What local events spike demand in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, the main local events that spike Airbnb demand in Cluj-Napoca are TIFF from 12 to 21 June 2026, Electric Castle near Cluj from 16 to 19 July 2026 and UNTOLD in Cluj-Napoca from 6 to 9 August 2026.

During these peak events, strong Cluj-Napoca Airbnb listings can see bookings fill much faster and nightly rates rise by about 50% to 150%, while the best central or stadium-adjacent apartments can spike even more.

Hosts in Cluj-Napoca should usually adjust pricing and availability three to six months before major festivals, because guests often book early when travel dates are fixed.

What occupancy differences exist between top and average hosts in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, top-performing Airbnb hosts in Cluj-Napoca can reach about 65% to 75% occupancy across the year.

An average Cluj-Napoca Airbnb host is more likely to sit around 35% to 50% occupancy, especially if the listing is generic, poorly photographed, slow to respond or located away from clear demand anchors.

A new host in Cluj-Napoca usually needs 6 to 12 months to reach top-performer occupancy levels, because reviews, pricing history, photos and operational consistency take time to build.

We give more details about the different Airbnb strategies to adopt in our property pack covering the real estate market in Cluj-Napoca.

Which price points are most crowded, and where's the "white space" for new hosts in Cluj-Napoca right now?

The most crowded nightly price range for Airbnb listings in Cluj-Napoca is about 235 to 390 lei, or roughly $50 to $85 and €45 to €75.

The main white-space opportunity in Cluj-Napoca is above that crowded band, around 445 to 680 lei per night, or roughly $95 to $150 and €85 to €130, where guests pay more only when the apartment clearly feels better.

A new host can compete in this underserved Cluj-Napoca Airbnb segment with a proper 2-bedroom layout, premium 1-bedroom comfort, air conditioning, parking, real workspace, excellent photos, self check-in and easy access to Centru, Plopilor, Zorilor, Gheorgheni or Iulius Mall.

We made this infographic to show you how property prices in Romania compare to other big cities across the region. It breaks down the average price per square meter in city centers, so you can see how cities stack up. It’s an easy way to spot where you might get the best value for your money. We hope you like it.

What property works best for Airbnb demand in Cluj-Napoca right now?

What bedroom count gets the most bookings in Cluj-Napoca as of 2026?

As of early 2026, 1-bedroom apartments appear to get the most total Airbnb bookings in Cluj-Napoca because they match couples, solo professionals, visiting parents, medical visitors and weekend travelers.

A practical booking-rate breakdown for Cluj-Napoca is about 20% to 25% for studios, 40% to 45% for 1-bedroom apartments, 25% to 30% for 2-bedroom apartments and 5% to 10% for 3-bedroom or larger apartments.

One-bedroom apartments perform best in Cluj-Napoca because they are affordable enough for short stays but comfortable enough for guests who want more than a basic studio.

What property type performs best in Cluj-Napoca in 2026?

As of early 2026, the best-performing residential Airbnb property type in Cluj-Napoca is a modern entire apartment, especially a renovated 1-bedroom or compact 2-bedroom unit.

Airbnb apartments in Cluj-Napoca usually have the deepest occupancy pool, while houses, villas and unique stays can earn more on select dates but have thinner year-round demand and fewer comparable listings.

Entire apartments outperform in Cluj-Napoca because the city’s short-term guests usually want a practical base near work, university, medical care, events or transport, not a large leisure property outside the city routine.

What sources have we used to write this blog article?

Whether it’s in our blog articles or the market analyses included in our property pack about Cluj-Napoca, we always rely on the strongest methodology we can, and we don’t throw out numbers at random.

We also aim to be fully transparent, so below we’ve listed the authoritative sources we used, and explained how we used them and the methods behind our estimates.

Source	Why this source is useful	How we used it
Romanian Legislative Portal, Order 65/2013	This is Romania’s official consolidated legal portal.	We used it to identify the national tourism-classification framework for accommodation. We treated it as the main legal source for whether an apartment used for tourist stays needs classification.
ANPC copy of Order 65/2013	ANPC is a Romanian public authority and hosts the legal text in PDF form.	We used it to cross-check wording in the accommodation classification rules. We used it only as a secondary check against the official legislative portal.
Airbnb responsible hosting in Romania	Airbnb explains what it asks Romanian hosts to consider before listing on the platform.	We used it to confirm Airbnb’s own wording about classification certificates in Romania. We did not treat Airbnb as a legal authority, but it is useful for platform compliance.
European Union Regulation 2024/1028	EUR-Lex is the official EU law database.	We used it to understand the EU short-term rental data-sharing framework. We used it to explain why enforcement visibility is increasing even without a Cluj-Napoca night cap.
Cluj-Napoca City Hall	This is the official municipal website for Cluj-Napoca.	We used it to check for local Airbnb bans, restricted zones or city-level caps. We found no clear citywide Airbnb-specific cap or zone ban published there as of early 2026.
National Institute of Statistics Romania	This is Romania’s official statistics agency.	We used it for tourism demand context and official accommodation-statistics methodology. We used county and national tourism data as demand background, not as Airbnb-specific revenue data.
INS TEMPO Online	TEMPO is Romania’s official statistical time-series database.	We used it as an official source for tourism and demographic context. We cross-checked official tourism context against private short-term rental datasets because TEMPO does not isolate Airbnb performance.
Cluj County Statistics Directorate	This is the Cluj branch of Romania’s official statistics system.	We used it for Cluj-specific statistical context. We treated it as a local official reference point for tourism and population background.
Cluj International Airport	This is the official website of Avram Iancu Cluj International Airport.	We used it to confirm Cluj-Napoca’s air-access strength and recent passenger traffic milestones. We treated airport demand as a forward indicator for non-local short-stay demand.
AirROI Cluj-Napoca dataset	AirROI publishes city-level short-term rental metrics with listing counts, ADR, occupancy and revenue.	We used it for 2026 listing count, ADR, occupancy, RevPAR and host-tier benchmarks. We treated it as one private dataset, not as standalone truth.
Airbtics Cluj-Napoca report	Airbtics is a recognized Airbnb analytics provider with market-level estimates.	We used it to cross-check median annual revenue, active listings and occupancy. We used it mainly to anchor the mid-market revenue range because it differs from other datasets.
AirDNA MarketMinder	AirDNA is one of the most established short-term rental data providers globally.	We used it to benchmark Cluj-Napoca Airbnb and Vrbo supply, ADR and occupancy. We adjusted public-page figures cautiously where labels or scrape scope could create confusion.
Airbnb Cluj-Napoca stays page	Airbnb is the platform where guests actually see active accommodation supply and amenities.	We used it to check visible property types, amenities and guest-facing neighborhood anchors. We did not use it as a revenue source because Airbnb does not publish full market financials.
UNTOLD official website	This is the official website of Cluj-Napoca’s largest demand-spiking festival.	We used it to confirm the 2026 dates and Cluj-Napoca location. We treated UNTOLD as the strongest annual short-stay demand shock in the city.
TIFF official website	This is the official Transilvania International Film Festival website.	We used it to confirm the 2026 festival dates in Cluj-Napoca. We used TIFF as a June demand driver for central apartments.
Electric Castle official website	This is the official website for the Electric Castle festival near Cluj-Napoca.	We used it to confirm the 2026 dates and Bánffy Castle location near Cluj. We treated it as a regional event that benefits Cluj-Napoca accommodation because many visitors sleep in the city.
European Central Bank reference rates	The ECB publishes official euro foreign exchange reference rates.	We used it to convert euro-denominated and dollar-denominated short-term rental data into Romanian lei, euros and US dollars. We rounded conversions so the article stays easy to read.
Numbeo Cluj-Napoca cost of living	Numbeo provides frequently updated local cost estimates that are useful for expense ranges.	We used it as a secondary check for utilities and local operating-cost assumptions. We did not use it alone because Airbnb expenses depend heavily on cleaning, turnover and management choices.