Contents
Key facts
- Five anchors draw five guest groups: the main station, the Messe, the ETH, the university, the airport.
- The anchor decides the fit-out — a desk and a washing machine for project demand, an electronic lock near the main station.
- Near the Messe the difference comes from price, not fit-out; by the lake it comes from the view and the photographs.
- The mistake the airport location invites: a week at CHF 150 beats three single nights at CHF 220 if four nights stay empty in between.
The five anchors
The location of a flat is usually thought of as a district number. For short-term letting that is the wrong unit: what counts is how reachable a demand anchor is — and that follows the tram lines, not the district boundaries.
What this table is not: a measurement. Occupancy and price data by anchor do not exist for Zurich, and we do not invent them. What is here is the assignment of anchor to guest group and that group’s known behaviour — length of stay, weekly pattern, lead time.
| Anchor | Who comes | Stay | Pattern | What that means |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main station | people passing through, city breaks | 1 to 2 nights | year-round, stronger at weekends | short stays, many changeovers — cleaning is the bottleneck |
| Messe Zürich, Oerlikon | exhibitors, trade visitors | 2 to 4 nights | a few weeks a year, known months ahead | the most expensive nights of the year — hold the calendar against them |
| ETH and university | guest lecturers, conferences, parents | 3 nights to weeks | term rhythm, exam and graduation periods | longer stays — workspace and washing machine count |
| Airport and Glattal | people in transit, project staff | 1 night or weeks | midweek, booked at short notice | two groups with opposing needs — pick one |
| Lakeside and old town | leisure guests, couples | 2 to 4 nights | May to September, weekends | strongest seasonal swing, highest willingness to pay |
What the anchor decides about the fittings
In Zurich, amenities are less a matter of taste than a matter of filters: anyone not offering «workspace» or «washing machine» does not appear in the searches that filter for them. Which filters matter depends on the anchor.
- Near ETH, the university or the airport with project demand: a workspace with a table at working height, a chair with a back and light from the side. A washing machine in the flat. Both are filter amenities for longer stays.
- Near the main station: an electronic lock. With stays of one to two nights and late-evening arrivals, handing over keys in person fails on sheer frequency.
- Near the trade fair: no particular amenity, but a calendar that knows the fair dates. The difference in return arises here through price and not through fittings.
- Lakeside and old town: a view, a balcony, good photographs. This is the one group where design actually moves the price.
Your figures, not our examples
The calculator takes the number of rooms, the neighbourhood and the fit-out and shows you a range — with the arithmetic beside it, not as a single figure you have to take on trust.
Estimate the returnThe mistake an airport location invites
Flats in the Glattal and around the airport serve two groups that sit badly together: people in transit for one night booking at short notice, and project staff for several weeks.
Serving both at once means chopping the calendar into single nights — and then no weekly booking fits in any more. A week at CHF 150 brings in more than three single nights at CHF 220 if four nights stay empty in between and cleaning happens three times.
The decision is made through the minimum stay, and it belongs made deliberately. Anyone aiming at longer stays sets it to three to five nights and visibly forgoes people in transit. Anyone aiming at single nights needs an electronic lock and cleaning that can happen daily.
Frequently asked questions
By occupancy, the central districts 1, 2 and 8 at 68 per cent in our calculation, followed by the other city districts at 64. On Lake Zurich it is 58, outside the city 52. More important than the level, though, is the kind of demand: at the lakeside it swings most over the year, in the Glattal least.
Yes, but only with a clear decision. The location serves people in transit for one night and project staff for several weeks — doing both at once chops up the calendar. A week at CHF 150 brings in more than three single nights at CHF 220 if four nights stay empty in between and cleaning happens three times. The decision is made through the minimum stay.
For a few weeks a year, very; for the rest, little. The value of that location lies not in occupancy but in individual days with far above-average willingness to pay — and those are known months in advance. Anyone not holding the calendar against them sells the most expensive nights of the year at the average price.
A real workspace and a washing machine in the flat. Both are filter amenities in the search: anyone not offering them does not appear for those queries. And the workspace has to be one — a table at working height, a chair with a back, light from the side, sockets within reach. Ticking it in the listing without having one loses points in the «accuracy» subcategory.
Not publicly, and we claim none. The data providers publish figures for the city of Zurich as a whole; per district or quarter there is nothing solid. What can seriously be said is the assignment of anchor to guest group and that group’s known behaviour — length of stay, weekly pattern, lead time. That is exactly what the table above contains.
And for your property?
Sources
State of our research: 10 August 2026. Official rules change — check the current position with the competent authority.
