Short-Term Rental
Short-Term Rental: September 2026
Hotel and hotel apartment occupancy, visitor numbers and leasing in short-term rental areas.
- Hotel occupancy, Q4 2025
- 80.1%
- same quarter last year: 77.7%
- Hotel apartment occupancy, Q4 2025
- 83.4%
- same quarter last year: 80.9%
- International visitors, January to end of Q4 2025 (million)
- 19.6
- +4.7% vs the same period last year
- New residential leases in short-term rental areas, September 2026
- 7,346
- +21.3% vs the same month last year
- Median annual rent, flats in these areas, September 2026 (AED)
- 90,000
- -9.7% vs the same month last year
Residential leasing in short-term rental areas, September 2026
| Area | New contracts | All contracts | Median annual rent, flats (AED) | vs same month last year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marsa Dubai | 1,609 | 2,296 | 115,000 | -8.0% |
| Burj Khalifa | 786 | 1,133 | 135,000 | -10.0% |
| Business Bay | 1,625 | 2,267 | 85,000 | -10.5% |
| Palm Jumeirah | 322 | 479 | 180,000 | -6.8% |
| Al Barsha South Fourth | 2,444 | 3,426 | 64,000 | -2.9% |
| Al Khairan First | 560 | 761 | 120,000 | -7.7% |
Occupancy by class, Q4 2025
| Class | Rooms or apartments | Occupancy Q4 2025 | Occupancy Q4 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–3 star | 29,523 | 81.0% | 79.0% |
| 4 star | 43,500 | 81.0% | 79.0% |
| 5 star | 56,048 | 79.0% | 76.0% |
| Hotel apartments: Standard | 11,305 | 84.0% | 82.0% |
| Hotel apartments: Deluxe | 13,888 | 83.0% | 80.0% |
International visitors by region, January to end of Q4 2025 (thousands)
| Region | 2025 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Europe | 4,103 | 3,741 | +9.7% |
| GCC | 2,995 | 2,739 | +9.3% |
| Russia, CIS and Eastern Europe | 2,891 | 2,626 | +10.1% |
| South Asia | 2,888 | 3,135 | -7.9% |
| MENA | 2,167 | 2,131 | +1.7% |
| North and Southeast Asia | 1,853 | 1,812 | +2.3% |
| Americas | 1,397 | 1,272 | +9.8% |
| Africa | 897 | 903 | -0.7% |
| Australasia | 401 | 360 | +11.4% |
| New leases | |
|---|---|
| 2025-10 | 6,108 contracts |
| 2025-11 | 4,958 contracts |
| 2025-12 | 3,985 contracts |
| 2026-01 | 3,985 contracts |
| 2026-02 | 4,255 contracts |
| 2026-03 | 2,505 contracts |
| 2026-04 | 2,105 contracts |
| 2026-05 | 3,056 contracts |
| 2026-06 | 3,853 contracts |
| 2026-07 | 4,960 contracts |
| 2026-08 | 6,096 contracts |
| 2026-09 | 7,346 contracts |
| Hotels | Hotel apartments | |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-Q1 | 82.3 % | 84.5 % |
| 2024-Q2 | 78.3 % | 81 % |
| 2024-Q3 | 75.7 % | 78.9 % |
| 2024-Q4 | 77.7 % | 80.9 % |
| 2025-Q1 | 81.1 % | 83.1 % |
| 2025-Q2 | 80.3 % | 82.5 % |
| 2025-Q3 | 78.1 % | 81.4 % |
| 2025-Q4 | 80.1 % | 83.4 % |
Hotels averaged 80.1% occupancy in Q4 2025 (same quarter last year: 77.7%); hotel apartments reached 83.4%.
In September 2026, 7,346 new residential leases started in the selected short-term rental areas (+21.3% vs the same month last year), at a median annual rent of 90,000 AED for flats.
Holiday home permits and their occupancy are not published as open data; this issue therefore relies on hotel and hotel apartment occupancy, visitor numbers and long-term leasing in typical short-term rental areas.
Method
Rents: rent contracts by start date, one count per contract, residential usage, in the areas listed (registered area names); median annual rent of single flats. Occupancy: quarterly averages by class, weighted by available rooms or apartments. Visitors: international visitors by region, cumulative from January to the end of the latest published quarter. Every figure is an aggregate of at least 3 records; smaller groups are shown as – or left out. No company, person or project names are published.
Source
Source: Dubai Land Department and other Dubai Government open data, published on Data.Dubai, used under the Dubai Open Data Licence 1.1. Analysis and figures by Zolia. Zolia is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government entity.