Pricing · Standard 17% commission

Airbnb management fees in Dubai: 17% all-inclusive

Hillal Medini · September 5, 2026 · Public fee
At a glance
  • 17% of gross hosting revenue, all-inclusive: DET licence, dynamic pricing, multi-channel distribution, 24/7 guest operations, hotel-grade housekeeping and linen, coordinated maintenance, photography and listings, reporting.
  • Paid directly by the owner, whichever manager you choose: platform commissions (15% to 17% Airbnb, 15% to 20% Booking.com), tourism dirham of AED 5 per bedroom per night, DET licence of AED 1,500 to 2,500 a year, building charges.
  • Owner statement and payout on the 5th of each month, exit on 30 days notice with no penalty. The Dubai market range is 15% to 25%.

Medini Homes charges one standard fee: 17% of gross hosting revenue, all-inclusive. No onboarding fee, no add-ons, no hidden margin on housekeeping, maintenance or linen. This page sets out what the 17% covers, what the owner still pays directly, and what the arithmetic looks like on a real property from our portfolio.

17%All-inclusive fee
5thMonthly statement & payout
30 dExit, no penalty

What the 17% covers

A single fee line on your statement covers the whole operation. There is no setup package, no software subscription, no per-job invoicing for housekeeping or linen, and no margin applied to maintenance work.

17% is our standard commission, written into the mandate. Depending on the property type and cluster it can be adjusted; you know your exact percentage at the audit, before signing anything.

Included in the 17% management fee
ServiceWhat it covers
DET licence and compliance Department of Economy & Tourism licence held under our operator name, your Title Deed kept as security, annual renewal, tourism dirham collected and passed on to DTCM.
Dynamic pricing Rates adjusted every day for season, events and demand, on a revenue management model calibrated for Dubai.
Multi-channel distribution Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com and direct bookings, with accounts opened under our operator name.
24/7 guest operations Messaging, check-in and assistance at any hour, handled by a salaried team in Dubai, never subcontracted.
Hotel-grade housekeeping and linen Hotel linen, consumables and an inspection after every departure, never re-invoiced to the owner.
Coordinated maintenance Call-outs and follow-up within 24 hours. Parts and third-party work stay invoiced at cost, with no margin.
Photography and listings Professional photography of the property, plus listing creation and optimisation on every platform.
Reporting and owner portal Itemised revenue and costs, calendar, personal date blocking, accounting export. Statement and payout on the 5th of each month.

What the 17% does not cover

These are not management fees: they are the running costs of a Dubai holiday home, due from the owner whichever manager is appointed. We publish them here so that offers can be compared on the same basis.

Not included, paid directly by the owner
ItemAmount
Airbnb platform commission15% to 17%
Booking.com platform commission15% to 20%
Tourism dirhamAED 5 / bedroom / night
DET holiday home licence (annual)AED 1,500 to 2,500
DEWA, chiller and service chargeDepends on usage and building
Worth knowing Platform commissions do not stack: each applies only to the bookings that come through that channel. DEWA, chiller and service charge depend on the building and on usage; they appear itemised at cost in the monthly statement, with no margin.

What the market charges

In Dubai, short-term rental management fees generally run from 15% to 25%. The headline rate tells you very little on its own: a low percentage combined with re-invoiced cleaning, a setup package and a margin on maintenance often costs more over a year than an all-inclusive rate. The useful question is not "what percentage?" but "what does that percentage cover, and what is left to pay afterwards?".

Our answer: 17% as standard, a single line on your statement, written on the first page of the management agreement. The items that stay with the owner are listed above and in our public statistics.

A worked example

Take the median observed in our own portfolio: a studio in JVC / JVT generated AED 82,800 of gross hosting revenue over 12 full months, from August 2025 to July 2026. The management fee is calculated directly on that amount.

Formula
Fee = gross hosting revenue × 17%
Fee = AED 82,800 × 0.17
= AED 14,076 over 12 months

That is the whole of our remuneration for the year on that property, including housekeeping, linen, photography, listings, 24/7 guest operations and maintenance coordination.

Reading the number AED 14,076 is a management fee, not an owner net. Platform commissions, tourism dirham, the DET licence and the building charges still come off the gross revenue, and they vary from one property and one building to the next. The AED 82,800 median is gross hosting revenue, excluding cleaning fees re-charged to the guest, observed on the Medini Homes portfolio from August 2025 to July 2026. Detail and methodology in our statistics and in the Dubai STR Report 2026.

Payout, reporting and exit

The owner statement and the payout go out on the 5th of each month. The statement details the month's revenue and costs booking by booking, with the fee applied to gross hosting revenue. The owner portal gives you the same live view we work from: multi-channel calendar, bookings, itemised invoices, personal date blocking, accounting export.

On the contract side, you can exit on 30 days notice, with no exit fee and no penalty. You leave with the guest history, the access codes, the platform accounts and the professional photography. It is written into the management agreement, clause 7.2.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly is your management fee?

17% of gross hosting revenue, all-inclusive. No add-ons, no onboarding fee, no hidden margin on housekeeping, maintenance or linen. 17% is our standard commission, written into the mandate. Depending on the property type and cluster it can be adjusted; you know your exact percentage at the audit, before signing anything.

What do I still pay on top of the 17%?

The costs an owner pays whichever manager they choose: platform commissions (15% to 17% Airbnb, 15% to 20% Booking.com), tourism dirham of AED 5 per bedroom per night, the annual DET holiday home licence at AED 1,500 to 2,500, and building charges (DEWA, chiller, service charge).

Who handles the DET licence? Am I compliant?

We hold the Department of Economy & Tourism licence under our operator name, and your Title Deed stays as security. The tourism dirham is collected and passed on to DTCM at every check-in. No grey area with the UAE authorities.

When am I paid, and on what basis?

The owner statement and the payout go out on the 5th of each month. The statement details the month's revenue and costs booking by booking, with the 17% fee applied to gross hosting revenue.

What happens if I want my property back?

Thirty days notice. No exit fee, no penalty. You leave with the guest history, the access codes, the platform accounts and the professional photography. Written into the management agreement, clause 7.2.

To place your own property before the audit, the revenue calculator gives the range observed on our comparables, and the owner testimonials break down real cases with the owner net after commission.

And on your property?

Send me the district, the type, the floor and the view: I will come back with a 12-month projection calibrated on comparable units in our portfolio, and the fee that goes with it.

Get your personalised projection Or ask your question on WhatsApp
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