Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) has revealed the Executive Resolution 3/2015 outlining detailed regulations for the emirate’s holiday home segment.
This move aims to provide greater transparency, safety and standardisation of the market to further increase the sector’s attractiveness to guests, home owners, operators and developers.
It is also part of Dubai’s objective to further diversify and increase its hospitality offering in line with its vision to attract 20 million visitors to the emirate by 2020.
The regulations detail specific criteria that home owners need to meet to apply for a licence, including quality standards, amenities, health & safety, insurance necessities, code of conduct, and wider community integration.
Home owners are also required to use a Dubai Tourism licensed operator to rent out their homes, who are accountable for ensuring the property meets all legislative requirements and complaint management policies, are sufficiently maintained and amenities and guest services provided are accurately listed to visitors.
The regulations also stipulate specific requirements for operators to adhere to in order to obtain their licence.
Dubai Tourism will regularly inspect registered homes, which are classified as standard or deluxe depending on their offering, to maintain standards and issue penalties for non-compliance to regulatory demands.
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“The decision to regulate Dubai’s Holiday Home sector is to broaden the range of options available to visitors, while ensuring that the high standards of quality for which Dubai is known are maintained.
"Visitors booking their accommodation through licensed operators will have the assurance that their accommodation has been classified in line with global best practices, while owners of properties will benefit from the expertise and marketing capabilities of the operator through who they rent out their property,” said Khaled Bin Touq, executive director, licensing & classification sector at Dubai Tourism.
“The holiday home market is a key facet to us achieving our long-term visitor goals in addition to delivering the right accommodation mix that is extremely well regulated and attractive to the diverse needs of travellers.
“Furthermore, these regulations empower building management companies, developers and home associations to be an active player in ensuring the quality of Dubai’s holiday home offering, driving a mutually beneficial increase of the emirate’s overall destination competiveness and appeal.”
To date, Dubai Tourism has already licensed 57 operators and registered more than 1,633 properties in line with the regulations.
Dubai Tourism has made fresh calls for all home owners and operators to ensure they comply with all regulations and apply for necessary permits.
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