Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Monday, Aug 11, 2025

Dubai records huge short-term rental boom in months leading up to Qatar World Cup

Dubai records huge short-term rental boom in months leading up to Qatar World Cup

Dubai has observed a 22 percent increase in short-term rental occupancy in the months leading up to the FIFA World Cup tournament, a real estate agency told Al Arabiya English on Wednesday.

“I think it’s definitely something that we anticipated purely because it’s been such a long time coming,” Department Manager at Betterstay - Dubai-based real estate company Betterhomes’ short-term rental company – Joanna Plunkett said.

“There was already so much media surrounding the World Cup being in Qatar anyway, so it was very much on the world radar being such an unusual time of year to have a World Cup and then it being the first time in the Middle East.”

Short-term rentals in Dubai have always been sought-after, especially among expats as it offers greater flexibility without being bound to long-term tenancy contracts. However, in the months leading up to the World Cup, the company noticed a spike in occupancy rates, highlighting the tourism ripple effect being experienced in Dubai.

“I think Dubai being one of the closest tourist locations to the World Cup meant that people were going to turn to Dubai instinctively, purely because it is kind of the closest tourist location that people can seek comfort in.”

The company has seen a significant increase in enquiry rates from people looking for short-term properties to rent and a staggering 342 percent rise in registered leads between the usually off-peak summer period and the start of World Cup advertising.


A picture taken on June 30, 2022, shows a view of the Dubai Marina in the Gulf Emirate.

Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina were the two most enquired about areas due to their popularity among tourists and familiarity with regular visitors. Marina also sports a few World Cup fan zones where visitors can watch the football games every day, immersing themselves into the highly-anticipated tournament’s energetic atmosphere without having to travel to Qatar.

Plunkett told Al Arabiya English that short-term rentals are gradually becoming a more viable option for Dubai residents due to their flexible nature. The city’s expat population tend to live for a short period of time before moving places.

“It's more of a fast paced city where people appreciate flexibility,” she explained, adding that a huge number of people who work between Dubai and neighbouring countries tend to opt for short-term rentals because it offers them the chance to just pay for the property for as long as they use it, rather than all year round.

This real estate trend is also appealing to investors more than ever before.

“Investors have that ability to pretty much charge whatever they want for [the property] knowing that people are going to pay for that flexibility,” Plunkett said.

“It’s definitely something investors are looking at, especially because a lot of investors would also like to benefit from using the property themselves from time to time.”

Al Arabiya English also spoke to Property Finder’s UAE Country Manager, Scott Bond, who said that Dubai’s housing market is currently “a top choice among investors, especially in times of crisis when Dubai shines as a stable, proactive safe-haven.”

A picture shows a view of the Dubai skyline, including Burj Khalifa the world’s tallest building, in the United Arab Emirates, on June 20, 2022.


Bond believes that this is due to the “vast volume of impactful initiatives, policies and regulations” set forth by the UAE government, paving the way for a “resurgence” and “solid macro fundamentals and world-leading tourism, business and innovation environment.”

According to Property Finder’s Market Watch Report for the third quarter of 2022, sales transactions in Dubai’s real estate market reached 25,456, a huge increase compared to 15,744 transactions made in the corresponding quarter last year, recording an increase of almost 62 percent. This quarter was the city’s “highest performance for a quarter in 12 years,” Bond said.

“I think Dubai itself is one of those places where year after year after year, more and more people are coming to for many reasons, whether it be tax-free earning, extreme safety, or the amazing weather all year round,” Plunkett explained.

“It’s one of those places whereby people turn to as a place to escape from the rest of the world and be in this Dubai bubble, and people are looking to invest because of the high rental returns more than most other places in the world if you compare it to likes of London, New York, and Singapore, it’s really high up there,” she added.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Trump Asserts Readiness for Further Strikes on Iran Amid Nuclear Tensions
Qatar Airways Clears Backlog of Passengers Following Missile Threats
Iran's Parliament Votes to Suspend Cooperation with Nuclear Watchdog
Trump Announces Upcoming US-Iran Meeting Amid Controversial Airstrikes
Trump Moves to Reshape Middle East Following Israel-Iran Conflict
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Oman Set to Introduce Personal Income Tax, First in Gulf
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
×