As of July 2026, short-term rentals in Dubai Marina average AED 645 per night at 68% annual occupancy — a RevPAR of AED 440. A typical 1-bedroom grosses around AED 135,000 per year.
Dubai Marina STR performance at a glance
Estimates for professionally managed listings, all bedroom counts pooled. See methodology.
Typical annual revenue by bedroom count
Marina stock is dominated by studio and 1-bedroom units in high-rise towers, which is also where booking demand is deepest. Larger units are scarcer and trade at a meaningful premium — especially with full marina views.
| Unit type | Gross annual revenue | Effective monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | AED 92,000 | AED 7,700 |
| 1 bedroom | AED 135,000 | AED 11,250 |
| 2 bedroom | AED 205,000 | AED 17,100 |
| 3 bedroom | AED 300,000 | AED 25,000 |
These are gross figures — before management fees (typically 15–25% in Dubai), cleaning, utilities, DEWA/chiller, and the DET permit. Self-managed units usually net 60–75% of gross.
Seasonality: month by month
Dubai's STR calendar has a pronounced winter peak and summer trough, with Ramadan (which moves ~11 days earlier each year) creating a mid-season dip wherever it lands. Here's how Dubai Marina typically moves through the year:
| Month | ADR (AED) | Occupancy | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 780 | 78% | Peak winter demand; Dubai Shopping Festival runs all month |
| February | 800 | 80% | Best weather of the year; citywide hotel compression lifts STR rates |
| March | 700 | 72% | Ramadan dip when it falls here; Eid rebound is sharp |
| April | 660 | 70% | Strong spring tail; Eid holidays lift weekends |
| May | 580 | 64% | Shoulder season; heat building, European demand fading |
| June | 500 | 58% | Low season begins; lean on longer stays |
| July | 470 | 54% | Deep summer; GCC family travel and monthly stays carry occupancy |
| August | 460 | 53% | Lowest rates of the year; relocation season for monthly bookings |
| September | 540 | 60% | Recovery begins as schools restart and weather breaks |
| October | 650 | 70% | Event season opens; GITEX week books out corporate demand |
| November | 720 | 75% | High season; strong European winter-sun demand |
| December | 880 | 82% | Strongest month; NYE nights price at 3–5× baseline |
What drives STR demand in Dubai Marina
Dubai Marina is the highest-supply, highest-liquidity STR market in the city — a purpose-built waterfront district of high-rise towers wrapped around a 3 km man-made marina. Guests book it for the walkable waterfront lifestyle: Marina Walk restaurants downstairs, JBR beach within a 10–15 minute walk, and Bluewaters Island with Ain Dubai directly across the water. It is one of the few Dubai neighbourhoods where a car-free stay works, served by two Metro stations and the Dubai Tram.
The demand mix is unusually balanced, which is what keeps occupancy resilient. European winter-sun tourists dominate December–April; corporate travellers working in adjacent Dubai Media City, Internet City, and JLT fill midweek nights year-round; GCC families drive weekend and summer demand; and cruise passengers from Dubai Harbour add short high-season stays. That mix means Marina rarely goes quiet — it discounts in summer, but it doesn't empty.
The flip side is competition. Thousands of active listings — including professional operators running entire floors — make this Dubai's most price-efficient STR market. Identical 1-bedrooms in the same tower can differ 30% in RevPAR purely on pricing discipline, photos, and review velocity. View is the biggest intra-area premium: full marina views command 20–30% over parking-view units of the same size.
Pricing strategy notes for Dubai Marina
Own the December peak. New Year's Eve is the single most valuable night of the Marina calendar — fireworks views over Ain Dubai and JBR justify 3–5× baseline rates with a 3-night minimum stay. Operators who leave NYE on autopilot routinely leave five figures on the table across a small portfolio. GITEX (October) and the Abu Dhabi F1 weekend (late November/early December) create secondary spikes worth overlaying manually.
Don't panic-discount Ramadan. Nightly leisure demand softens, but corporate midweek demand persists and monthly-stay demand actually improves. Shifting to 7–28 night minimums with modest length-of-stay discounts protects ADR better than slashing nightly rates — then reset for the sharp Eid rebound.
Survive summer on length of stay. July–August is when Marina's monthly-stay market matters: relocators, interns, and GCC families book 28+ nights. A 25–35% monthly discount that keeps a unit 80% full beats a high nightly rate on 40% occupancy. Weekend (Thursday–Saturday) staycation pricing holds up better than midweek — keep the gap wide.
Licensing: what you need to operate in Dubai Marina
Every holiday home in Dubai — Dubai Marina included — must hold a permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). You can register as an individual owner-operator or list through a licensed holiday home operator. Permits are issued per unit and renewed annually, and operators must collect the Tourism Dirham fee (AED 10–15 per bedroom per occupied night, depending on classification). Unlicensed listings face fines and delisting.
Short-term vs long-term rental in Dubai Marina
A 1-bedroom in Dubai Marina typically rents long-term for around AED 100,000 per year. The same unit grossing AED 135,000 on the short-term market needs to clear its extra operating costs (furnishing, bills, cleaning, management, permit) before it beats the long-term baseline — in Dubai Marina, well-run STRs generally do, with the added flexibility of owner use and no rent-cap exposure. The break-even question comes down to occupancy: below roughly 55–60%, long-term usually wins.
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