How much can you earn from an apartment in downtown Gdańsk? Real numbers

We hear this question more often than any other. Someone has bought an apartment on Granary Island or inherited a studio apartment on Długa Street and wants to know one thing: how much rent it will bring in each month. An answer like “three to ten thousand” doesn’t help anyone, and the rounded figures in ads can confuse people more than they clarify things. So let’s try a different approach: we’ll show you what the actual rental income for an apartment in Gdańsk really consists of and why two apartments right next to each other can generate completely different amounts of income. After 10 years of managing apartments in the very heart of the city, we know where the pitfalls lie in these calculations.

Why won’t any honest person give you a single figure?

Because an apartment’s rental income depends on four factors at once: location, size, quality, and the time of year. Change just one of them, and the result can vary by as much as half.

Let’s take two studio apartments located ten minutes’ walk apart. The first is right on the Motława River, the second is behind the railroad tracks. In the summer, both will be rented out, because Gdańsk is bursting at the seams during peak season. The difference becomes apparent in October: the first one is still occupied, because weekend tourists want to stay where there’s something going on, while the second one starts to sit empty. On an annual basis, this isn’t just a minor difference—it amounts to over a dozen thousand zlotys.

That’s why when someone promises you a specific profit without viewing the apartment and assessing its neighborhood, it’s not a forecast—it’s just a sales pitch. A reliable appraisal is always based on data from similar apartments in the same neighborhood.

How does seasonality affect results in Gdańsk?

Gdańsk has one of the most distinct seasons in Poland. From May to September, the city is flooded with tourists, nightly rates rise, and good apartments in the city center are often booked up weeks in advance. In winter, tourist traffic slows down, leaving mainly business, conference, and weekend visitors.

And here’s something the ads don’t mention: an apartment doesn’t have to operate in a single mode all year round. During peak season, short stays at the highest rates work best. During the off-season, medium-term rentals are often a better option: for example, for people working in Gdańsk for a few months or for companies looking for housing for their employees. We call this the hybrid model, and it’s what allows the apartment to generate income twelve months a year, rather than just five. An owner who only considers July and August is only seeing half the picture.

Revenue is not the same as income. Who covers the rental costs?

The biggest misunderstandings stem from confusing two numbers. Revenue is everything guests paid for their stays. Profit is what’s left after expenses, and it’s only that second number that ends up in your pocket.

There are, of course, costs associated with short-term rentals: commissions for booking platforms, cleaning after each stay, laundry for the linens, and utilities. What matters, however, is whose responsibility they are. In a good partnership model, the operator covers them. The way it works with us is that we calculate the commission based on net income, not gross revenue, so operating costs—including booking platform commissions—are on our side. The owner doesn’t pay extra for the photo shoot, linens, or startup costs, and every month receives a transparent report and a net payout. No extra charges and no surprises.

But is short-term rental itself profitable? In the very center of Gdańsk, it usually yields significantly higher returns than long-term rental, under one condition: occupancy must be high, and prices must be adjusted to demand on an ongoing basis. This is a day-to-day job, and that’s exactly why a property manager is hired—so that this work can be handled without the owner’s involvement.

One reservation, two different amounts—so where does the difference come from?

Imagine a week in August in a downtown apartment for four people. A family from Norway pays several thousand zlotys for seven nights. Sounds great. But deducted from that amount are the commission for the booking platform through which the reservation was made, the cost of cleaning and laundry after the stay, and a share of the utility bills. The same reservation, if booked directly through the apartment’s website, leaves the owner with noticeably more money in their pocket, since the intermediary’s commission is eliminated.

That’s why the source of bookings is so important. A property manager who can attract guests directly—through their own website and repeat customers—effectively increases the owner’s income without raising prices. This is one of the details worth asking about when choosing a company, along with the commission structure and the contract terms. We cover this topic in more detail in our guide on how to choose a rental management company in Gdańsk.

What can you do to make your apartment more profitable?

Three things have the greatest impact, and none of them is a secret. The first is preparing the apartment: an interior that looks good in photos gets rented more often and at higher rates, and the difference between an “old-fashioned” apartment and a thoughtfully decorated one can amount to several dozen percent of the daily rate. Sometimes all it takes is replacing the lighting, textiles, and a couple of pieces of furniture—not a complete renovation.

The second factor is prices that respond to demand. A concert at the stadium, a long weekend, a conference downtown—each of these events affects how much guests are willing to pay. A fixed price throughout the year means you earn too little in the summer and drive guests away in the winter.

The third factor is reviews. An apartment with a 4.8 rating and 100 reviews beats out an identical apartment with no history, even if it’s a little more expensive. You work on building those reviews for months: by responding quickly, keeping the place clean, and making sure everything just works. That’s actually the best way to secure a good rating for years to come.

So how much can you actually earn?

The honest answer is: do the math, don’t guess. For an apartment in downtown Gdańsk, you can prepare a forecast based on actual results from similar apartments in the same neighborhood, broken down by month and taking into account the season and costs. We provide this potential valuation free of charge: we show you how much your apartment can earn during peak season and off-season before you make any decisions. Just contact us through our short-term rental service website in Gdańsk. And if you’re just buying an apartment to rent out, get in touch before you make the purchase. We’ll advise you on which locations have real potential and help you avoid costly mistakes right from the start.