Dubai ranked as the third most expensive Airbnb destination
Dubai has been named as one of the most expensive destinations in the Bloomberg World Airbnb Cost Index of more than 100 cities.
At US $180 (AED 661), costs in Dubai rose by more than 7% year-on-year to be named the third most expensive in the world, behind Miami and Reykjavik.
Citing the Bloomberg index, Arabian Business pointed out that hotel room rates in Dubai over the same period fell by 28% to $175 (AED 643).
A research by Knight Frank backs the index by adding that prices in Dubai’s hotel market is being hit by more than 4,200 active short-term lets available in the city on Airbnb.com.
The study, issued late last year, noted that while hotel operators had previously been dismissive of competition in the form of short-term letting websites, many are now recognising the ‘Airbnb effect’ and in some markets are lobbying strongly against it.
In April 2016, Dubai Tourism inked an agreement with Airbnb to allow homeowners to apply for licences without having to commission a third party as a management operator.
Bloomberg compiled the data for its latest index based on the average daily cost of lodging in private dwellings, regardless of accommodation type, for two guests.
Elsewhere in the region, Riyadh was ranked 26th ($109), down 25.3% on an annual basis and Kuwait ($107) was placed 28th.