Milan alone is gearing up to welcome an estimated 1.6 million spectators over the course of two weeks, leaving locals wondering what the impact on their city will be. Around town, a tentative optimism seems to prevail. Ask a barista, restaurant server or dry cleaner if they’re excited for the Olympics, and you’ll often get a noncommittal, “sì” delivered with shrugged shoulders and a quick, tilted double head nod. Others, like Lucrezia Bosone, who runs a branding agency and grew up in Milan, remain skeptical. “I just don’t know if the city will be able to handle it,” she says, comparing the upheaval with that of Milan Design Week that causes traffic snarls and crowds across the city.
Hotel room rates for January are already showing a sizeable increase, too. At the Excelsior Hotel Gallia, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Milan, rates are comparable to Milan’s peak periods—Design Week in April and the spring and fall editions of Fashion Week—with several rooms booked months in advance. In the weeks immediately preceding and following the Games, rates remain above average.
Marco Terzi, CEO and founder of Xenia, a short-term rental company that manages over 130 Milan properties, cites a similar pattern, noting that rates during the opening ceremony, the first weekend and major finals are 70 to 120% higher than a typical February, with “prime location” apartments costing nearly 150% more. He has noticed clear peak periods around the days leading up to the opening ceremony and the first weekend, as well as a steadier but still higher middle stretch, and only a slight easing after the closing ceremony. Stays range from quick two- or three-night “hit and run” visits, timed to a single event, to longer seven- to 14-night bookings from staff and media.
Increased connectivity
To manage spectator flow in a manner that minimizes neighborhood disruption and avoids wide-scale neighborhood shutdowns and heavy traffic congestion, organizers have developed a transportation strategy. Lombardy secured a considerable portion of the Games’ 3.5 billion euro ($4 billion) budget to improve the host region’s transport and infrastructure. This covers shuttle services from pick-up points in Milan to Alpine competition sites, 46 new electric metro trains, and added rail connections for the Dobbiaco and Ponte nelle Alpi stations in South Tyrol, two of Cortina d’Ampezzo’s main access points. Lombardy’s regional TreNord service has added 120 additional daily train services for nearly 2,500 daily runs between Milan and the Valtellina area.
