Olympic price bubble bursts for hotels and accommodation

A historic establishment that makes service, elegance and confidentiality its aces. Among its most famous guests is German Chancellor Helmut Kohl as well as Formula One champions.

Altroconsumo points out that compared to previous surveys, prices have fallen and there is room availability. In Cortina one spends on average a little more than 500 euro to sleep during an Olympic weekend, in the last survey the average was 2,078 euro and if, as we did, you compare it with a normal weekend in January, you pay 6% less, before it was 261% more.

In Cortina, the airbnbs considered cost on average 500 euro, in the December survey I was over 3 thousand euro on both weekends of the Games. They cost a little more than hotels.

In November, Il Sole 24 Ore had found an offer on Booking.com in the Pearl of the Dolomites for a short 27-night rental of an 80 square metre flat for four people at 'just' 610,050 euro. Weeks later, the price had dropped to around 110,000 euro until this house found its tenants.

Leaving today and staying until 22 February in other Ampezzo houses, 2 adults spend just over 13 thousand euro for a 110 square metre flat, while for a studio apartment for 15 nights it comes to almost 16 thousand euro. Then for a 120 square metre penthouse, ideal for two couples, the expense rises to 122 thousand euros, a sign that the rush to attend the competitions and breathe the Olympic air was not as massive as hoped.

Snowboarding, freestyle, alpine skiing and ski mountaineering. These are the races taking place in Valtellina where the average price, according to data from Altroconsumo, is 720 euro compared to almost 1,700 euro in December. During the period of the Games, one pays 133% more than in January 2026.

For Val di Fiemme and Milan, we are at EUR 453 for the former and just over EUR 300 for the Lombard capital. In any case, compared to a weekend in the previous month, one pays 63% and 76% more respectively. In other words, this is a far cry from the prices one gets for sporting events such as Formula One at Monza or for the Salone del Mobile.

In Valtellina, on the other hand, it is hotels that are more expensive, exceeding 800 euro for a weekend, while airbnbs stop just below 600 euro. In Val di Fiemme, for airbnb you have to pay more than one and a half times the cost of a hotel. In Milan, on the other hand, the gap is less pronounced and airbnb is cheaper.

The Olympic climate also creates paradoxical situations, as in the case of travel. The case of the 11-year-old child left on the street by a driver of the Calalzo-Cortina line because he did not have an 'Olympic' ticket, which was increased to 10 euro compared to the 2.3 euro for a normal journey, is another example of the price increases brought about by the Games. To reach the venues by train, according to Altroconsumo, a round trip for two people from Milan to Cortina 216 euro, from Rome to Cortina 338 euro, from Turin 318 euro.

The cheapest place to get to from Milan is Tirano in Valtellina, whose journey costs 50 euro. Prices during the Games period compared to January see minimal increases, between 4% for Valtellina and 7% for Cortina and Val di Fiemme, but for maximum prices the increases are in double figures.

The price of tickets represents another significant and also highly variable item of expenditure. The cheapest tickets are for ice hockey matches in Milan, where it is possible to get in for less than EUR 100 for two people, the consumer association reports.

Disciplines such as biathlon, curling, and cross-country skiing also remain below this threshold, while tickets for sports such as acrobatic skiing or short track are higher, exceeding 300 euros for two people, and even figure skating, where the price can reach 560 euros.

A weekend in Milan to watch ice hockey can cost a little over 650 euro for two people in total, accommodation included. In Valtellina, cheering on the acrobatic ski champions can cost almost 1,400 euro, accommodation and transport included.