Real estate
How to start a holiday homes business in Dubai
Short-term rental in Dubai requires a holiday homes operator permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism, with each unit registered individually and tourism dirham obligations per booking.
The market
What the sector actually looks like.
Dubai received 19.59 million international visitors in 2025, a third consecutive record. Short-term rental has grown into a substantial parallel accommodation sector, and DET licenses and registers operators unit by unit rather than leaving it unregulated.
Figures on this page
Dubai received 19.59 million international visitors in 2025, a third consecutive record year.
Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism, 2025
How the business actually makes money
Nightly rate times occupancy, minus cleaning, linen, platform commission, utilities and the tourism dirham. Gross yield exceeds long-term letting; net yield often does not, because the operating cost of a serviced unit is far higher than an annual tenancy. Scale matters — cleaning and linen logistics only work efficiently across a cluster of units in the same building or area.
Why here
Regional advantages
Record and growing visitor numbers
19.59 million visitors in 2025 with year-round demand rather than a single season.
Yield premium over long-term letting
Gross returns on well-located units meaningfully exceed annual tenancy in the right locations.
Regulation legitimises the sector
DET permitting means the market is not fighting a ban, unlike short-term rental in many cities.
And the other side
Regional disadvantages
Per-unit registration limits scalability
Every unit is registered individually. Growth is administrative work, not just commercial.
Buildings and associations can prohibit it
Owners' associations in many towers ban short-term letting outright regardless of your permit.
Operating cost erodes the yield premium
Cleaning, linen, utilities, platform commission and voids consume much of the headline gross advantage.
Why this is different
Not just real estate.
Unit-by-unit registration means scaling is administrative, not just commercial. Buildings also differ — some owners' associations prohibit short-term letting outright.
Approvals beyond the trade licence
DET holiday homes operator permit, per-unit registration, tourism dirham collection and remittance, and landlord or association consent.
Where to license it
Questions
Yes. A DET holiday homes operator permit with each unit registered individually, plus tourism dirham collection. Platforms now verify permits.
Gross yields exceed long-term letting, but cleaning, linen, utilities, commission and voids consume much of the difference. Scale across a cluster of units is what makes it work.
No. The owners' association or building management may prohibit short-term letting, and landlord consent is required if you do not own the unit.
One question
Who will be paying your invoices?
Inbound tourism is domestic supply — the visitor is served here — so this rarely points where founders expect. Outbound travel services are the genuine export case.
Compare the two routesOr just ask usEmirate tourism licensing applies, plus per-event or per-activity permits. The annual licence does not cover the activities you run under it.
Compare the two routesOr just ask usInbound and outbound operations are licensed differently, and an agency doing both usually needs both permissions rather than one broad licence.
Answer five questions insteadOr just ask us