UAE: Samana Group, under the holding company Samana Developers, has launched a new business entity called ‘Samana Holidays’ that will allow homeowners and end users to rent out apartments on a short-term basis in Dubai.
The launch of Samana Holidays is initially designed to target tourists, holidaymakers and fans travelling over especially to the Middle East for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, ensuring that 500 units are converted into holiday homes for the duration of the tournament and beyond.
According to CEO Imran Farooq, Samana Holidays will “boost the rental income of homeowners from eight to 15 per cent as soon as their apartment is booked on Airbnb” and the 500 units are also expected to generate 38 million UAE dirhams [$10.4 million] in revenue by Q2 2023.
An influx of tourists is anticipated after the UAE removed almost all of its Covid-19 restrictions earlier this month, more than two and a half years after the onset of the global pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. As a result, Dubai is on course for a 30 per cent surge in holiday homes coming onto the market.
The Samana Holidays team says that it has signed a long-term contract with Airbnb to convert units from long-term to short-term rental usage and the company will take care of the end-to-end process from furnishing to finding customers, finalising rental deals, bringing tenants on board and apartment maintenance.
Farooq said: “Converting units from long-term to short-term is a perfect proposition for buyers as well as for tourists. The serviced apartments at Samana Holidays will substantially reduce the per-night rate as compared to the rate at hotels in Dubai.”
Samana Holidays is the first step towards the launch of the group’s hospitality business as it plans to initiate a series of five-star hotel projects in Dubai by the third quarter of 2023.
