For Downtown Dubai property owners
Holiday Home Management in Downtown Dubai
We run your apartment near the Burj Khalifa and Dubai Mall as a holiday home, from the DET permit to the monthly payout. And before you sign anything, we'll compare it against renting to a yearly tenant.
- Around 91.1% average occupancyHomevy portfolio, Entrepreneur Middle East, August 2026
- Best Short-Term Rental
Management Company
in Dubai2026 Arabian Best of the Best Awards - Airbnb Superhost
statusa 4.9-star average across platforms - Flat 20%no onboarding fee, no hidden charges
Occupancy and income vary by unit, area and season. Homevy's figures are portfolio averages.
Downtown Dubai Asking Rents Down By 21.74%
Downtown Dubai asking rents fell from AED 230,000 to AED 180,000 a year between Q3 2025 and Q3 2026, the steepest fall of any Dubai community in the asking-rent data.
It isn’t just more small units coming onto the market. Rents fell across every apartment size.
Asking rents aren’t signed rents. Registered new leases tell a calmer story: signed rents in Downtown were 11% lower for January to September 2026 than for the same months of 2025.
Either way, the yearly number Downtown property owners plan around is lower than it was a year ago. And once you sign with a yearly tenant, that number is fixed for 12 months. New Year’s Eve and a slow August pay the same rent.
So the question isn’t “can short-term rental work in Downtown?” It’s “will it leave me with more than a yearly tenant would, once service charges and running costs are paid?” Homevy answers that for your building before you commit to anything.
Holiday Home Management Services in Downtown Dubai
Homevy runs full-service short-term rental management, in-house, for Downtown apartments. We also build our own technology: three published apps, including one built for property owners. It's why Homevy is renowned as the most technology-forward Airbnb management company in Dubai.
Your property, your calendar. Owner stays are free and unlimited, and you block your dates in the app.
Permit: your DET holiday home permit, applied for and kept up to date
Furnishing: interior design and furnishing by our in-house, KHDA-certified design team
Photos and listing: professional photography and video at onboarding, at no extra charge, then live on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Google and direct
Pricing: dynamic pricing around season, events and demand
Guests: 24/7 multilingual guest care from people, plus guest vetting and ID verification
Housekeeping: cleaning and linen, and an inspection after every checkout
Repairs: anything under AED 500 handled straight away, anything above that waits for your approval
Your money: a monthly statement and payout within the first week, with every booking, expense and payment in the Homevy Owner app
Homes We Manage in Downtown Dubai for Owners
Homevy manages holiday homes in Burj Views East and Burj Vista in Downtown Dubai. The Marina Gate home below is in Dubai Marina, so you can judge the standard we hold our whole portfolio to.
Buildings
Our Guides to Downtown Dubai Buildings
Downtown towers don't all run the same rules or service charges. These are our guides to the buildings Downtown property owners ask us about most.
Permits and building rules
Short-Term Rental Permits and Paperwork in Downtown Dubai
To run a short-term rental in Downtown Dubai, the apartment needs a holiday home permit from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Operating without one can lead to fines of up to AED 100,000.
DET's own page lists these fees and documents, as checked on 19 October 2026:
- Permit fee:
- “AED300 per bedroom + AED50 per Holiday Home (issuing a Holiday Home classification certificate) + AED10 knowledge fee + AED10 innovation fee”, or “Total: AED370” for one bedroom, and “Up to AED1,200 per Holiday Home each year”
- Tourism Dirham:
- paid by the guest, “per room per night regardless of the number of guests”: AED15 for a Deluxe Holiday Home or AED10 for a Standard Holiday Home, for “the first 30 consecutive nights of the check-in only”
- Documents:
- your title deed or approved DLD sales purchase agreement, a developer NOC if applicable, a signed passport copy or Emirates ID of the landlord, a trade licence if the landlord is a company, the authorised signatory's ID, a Property Management Letter on DET's template, and a current DEWA bill
The permit is the easy part. The paperwork is where we check first.
Under Dubai's holiday home rules, your unit has to be in an area where holiday homes are authorised, and your sale and purchase agreement (SPA) “must not include any explicit provision that precludes using the real property unit as a Holiday Home” (Administrative Resolution No. 1 of 2020, Article 8).
We've seen SPAs that tie units to a hotel rental pool. We read your SPA and your building's rules before we talk about income, so you find out on day one, not after you've furnished.
Our fee
Flat 20% Airbnb Management Fee in Downtown Dubai
Homevy's fee is a flat 20%, and it's performance-based, so Homevy earns only when you earn. There's no onboarding fee and no hidden charges. The contract is flexible, with no multi-year lock-in.
The percentage is only half of it, though. What matters is what it's taken from.
Some property managers take their percentage off the top, before the booking platform takes its cut and before VAT. A smaller percentage of a bigger number can leave you with less.
Ours comes after VAT and channel costs. Ask any property manager to show you how their fee is calculated, then compare what you're left with.
How our fee is calculatedWhy Homevy exists
An Airbnb Management Company Founded by Property Owners
Kyle Johnson, CEO and Co-Founder, Homevy“We were owners before we were managers.”
“Before you sign anything, we compare short stays against a yearly lease for your building. If the yearly lease wins, we’ll tell you. Even if it means we lose the fee.”
We've said no in the Marina before. A few months before we wrote about it, we turned down a Marina apartment with stunning views because the furnishing didn't meet the standard we hold across our portfolio. The owner didn't want to change it, so we passed.
Read why we turned down a Marina property
How it works
From Empty Downtown Dubai Apartment to Monthly Payout
We assess your apartment
What it could earn as a holiday home, next to what a yearly tenant would pay, with the furnishing cost beside it. You decide before you spend a dirham.
We furnish it for guests
Our in-house, KHDA-certified design team designs and furnishes it to the same standard as every home we run.
We launch it
DET permit handled, professional photos and video, then live on Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Google and direct.
We host, and you get paid
24/7 guest care, an inspection after every checkout, and your statement and payout within the first week of every month.
Why Homevy
Why Downtown Dubai Property Owners Choose Homevy
Homevy won Best Short-Term Rental Management Company in Dubai at the 2026 Arabian Best of the Best Awards. It's what you'd expect from the best short-term rental management company in Dubai: the same standards in every home, and numbers you can check.
Occupancy: In Dubai, Homevy reports around 91.1% average occupancy across its portfolio (Entrepreneur Middle East, August 2026).
Guests: more than 10,000 guest nights hosted, with a 4.9-star average across platforms and Airbnb Superhost status.
Coverage: Homevy's work has been covered by Entrepreneur Middle East, Khaleej Times, Gulf Times, Arabian Business, Rolling Stone MENA and Tech Times.
Occupancy and income vary by unit, area and season. Homevy's figures are portfolio averages, not a guarantee for any individual property.
FAQs About Holiday Home Management in Downtown Dubai
What is holiday home management?
It's when a licensed operator runs your apartment as a short-term rental for you. In Downtown Dubai, Homevy runs it from the DET permit to your monthly payout, for a flat 20%. Furnishing is your cost, designed by our in-house team.
How much do holiday home managers charge in Dubai?
Do I need a DET permit for my Downtown apartment, and what does it cost?
Can my building stop me renting my apartment short term?
Is a Burj or Fountain view worth more as a holiday home?
My tenant's lease is ending. How do I switch to short-term rental?
Can I still use my apartment?
Holiday Home or Yearly
Lease, Side by Side
If you rent your Dubai Marina apartment to a yearly tenant, in 12 months you'll know exactly what it earned. You won't know what it could have earned.
Send us your building and bedroom count on WhatsApp. We'll put the holiday home number next to the yearly rent for your building, and if the yearly lease wins, we'll say so.
Talk to us on WhatsApp
chat@homevy.com
I Rise Tower - 22C - 03 Hessa St - Barsha Heights - Dubai
+971-56-496-6100
+971-56-496-6100