After operating in a " legal gray area " for several years, Dubai's Airbnb hosts can breathe easier as the emirate has not only changed regulations regarding holiday home rentals but has begun promoting the service.
Following a decision at the end of April to begin issuing holiday home licenses, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing has signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbnb in an effort to diversify options available to tourists.
In 2014, an expert told The National that unlicensed individuals who rented out their homes on Airbnb were liable for fines up to 100,000 dirhams. However, following regulation changes, individuals can now complete several simple steps to legally license their homes for temporary rentals.
While licensing may still be seen as a hassle for some Airbnb users, it's definitely better than paying a massive fine and also works to ensure quality standards are maintained.
"Airbnb is good news for Dubai. It helps grow and diversify tourism, increase consumer choice and will attract new guests to this exciting destination," Airbnb’s EMEA Managing Director Olivier Gremillon said, according to The National .
According to Airbnb, some 3,500 listings are already operating throughout the emirate, clearly demonstrating that many residents and tourists have already found immense value in the service.
Dubai's decision to embrace the service comes out of a need to accommodate an ever increasing number of tourists, with the goal of receiving some 20 million tourists annually by 2020.
"In keeping with global demand trends and a highly digitised marketplace for key enablers of tourism infrastructure, we are pleased to partner with Airbnb, a pioneer in this space, to help promote diverse accommodation options to our visitors in a safe, secure and controlled manner," Helal Saeed Almarri, director-general of Dubai Tourism, said in a statement .
Similar to Dubai's recognition of its need to further accommodate tourists, representatives from Qatar also recently suggested Airbnb may be part of its solution to hosting extra guests during the 2022 World Cup.