Sardinia boasts a silent legacy that doesn't appear in any tourism statistics: brothels. According to the ISTAT census, more than one in three homes on the islands is unoccupied—one of the highest percentages in Italy. These are homes inherited from parents, seaside apartments purchased in good years, or the family homes of the many Sardinians who live and work abroad. They open in August, when things are good. The rest of the year, the shutters remain closed.
The invisible cost of closed shutters
The idea that an empty house "costs nothing" is hard to die for, but owners know it well: between property tax on second homes, basic utilities, condominium fees, and maintenance, the meter runs even with the shutters closed. And there's a cost that never comes with a bill: an uninhabited house ages faster. Dampness, jammed windows, and systems that deteriorate without anyone noticing. The paradox lies here: just as Sardinia is enjoying record-breaking tourist seasons, thousands of properties that could be working are sitting idle. And a property that's idle isn't a piggy bank: it's a cost that slowly erodes its value.
Why so many owners give up
Anyone who's tried renting out on their own knows the list: National Identification Number, check-in and check-out, tourist tax, flat-rate tax, guest communications, reviews, unexpected events with every stay. A second job, not passive income. It's the reason many give it a try for a summer and then give up: it's not the demand that's lacking—it's the time.
A profession that is becoming professionalized
In the rest of Italy, the answer already has a name: property management. According to data from AIGAB, the Italian Association of Short-Term Rental Managers, there are currently approximately 452,000 homes in the short-term rental market, and approximately one in four is entrusted to professional managers—operators who handle everything from paperwork to maintenance, transforming the owner's "second job" into a monthly statement. This sector generates approximately 150,000 jobs and is growing year after year, while the DIY sector declines.
