Starting a hotel business in Dubai
Do you want to launch a hotel business in Dubai? Given the luxury market and tourism potential in Dubai, indeed it’s one of the best business ideas. But turning this idea into an actual business requires you to follow many steps. From getting initial approval to taking care of hotel structure, you will have to pay attention to a lot of factors at the same time.
Starting a hotel business in Dubai but not sure how? Do not worry, Prospr has created a comprehensive guide. It is your ultimate walkthrough guide for starting a hotel in Dubai. So, let’s get started and find out what steps are crucial.
Types of hotel business setups in Dubai
When we talk about opening a hotel space in Dubai, you come across following options to choose your specific business types:
- Luxury resorts
- Hotel aparments
- Hotels
- Hostels for youth
- Guest houses
- Holiday houss
Criteria to start a hotel business in Dubai
Before you set up your hotel business in Dubai, you need to get a hotel license in Dubai. And to acquire that license, your hotel business must meet some criteria set by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
There are certain rules and regulations that define your eligibility criteria. Here are some rules that your hotel business must abide by:
- Bank guarantee- Before the government issues you a hotel license, you will provide a bank guarantee that you are financially sound to run this business in Dubai.
- Hotel room size- Every hotel room must be at least 30 square meters, it’s the minimum size rule to follow.
- Guest data- You must have to put a property system in place for keeping data of every guest stored.
- Transparency- If you offer some hotel packages and have some promotional offers, you need to make sure that everything is transparent and clearly displayed like what’s included in the package and what is the price of a package. Each and every vital detail should be there based on buyer beware policy.
- Hotel manager- You need to hire a certified hotel manager who knows how to manage a hotel professionally. This manager must have a “Certificate of good conduct”.
- Health and safety guidelines- DTCM provides comprehensive health and safety guidelines that ensure that your guests and staff are fully protected and stay in a hygienic environment. These regulations also provide clear guidelines for food hygiene, disability access, emergency protocols and fire safety.
- Insurance coverage-You also need to sign up for insurance coverage that protects your business from unexpected circumstances such as property damage, guest injuries, or cancellation.
How to start a hotel business in Dubai?
Here are some steps you need to take for setting up a hotel business in Dubai.
Step 1-Choose business location
Before you pick a location in Dubai, it’s always a good idea to conduct market research. This research will help you understand the local market, targeted audience, existing competitors, and SWOT analysis of competitors. Based on research information, you can decide what location will turn your hotel business into a profitable venture.
Do you want to know what location will be suitable for opening a hotel business in Dubai?
If yes, then hire Prospr’s business consultants and researchers. We will conduct a feasibility study and provide you with a clear idea of what to expect from a specific location. This feasibility report will help you pick an ideal business location.
Whether you decide to set up your business in Mainland or Freezone, you need help from expert business consultants who will guide you through the complete process of hotel business setup in UAE.
Step 2- Hire a certified hotel manager
The next most important step is to hire an expert hotel manager. It is mandatory to hire a hotel manager who has relevant certification and experience in the hotel industry. During a job hiring interview, try to give preference to a hotel manager who has local area knowledge and who is quite familiar with cultural nuances.
Must read: How to Start an Online Business in Dubai
As far as operational expertise is concerned, you need to ensure that this person can handle staff, budget and regulatory compliance.
A hotel manager is going to be a key person of your hotel business in Dubai. This key person will take the most important decisions about staff and hotel. Thereby, you need to be a bit extra careful during the hotel manager selection process.
Step 3- Get initial approval
Now it’s time to get initial approval of your hotel business in Dubai approval from the Department of Economic Development/DED. Here are documents you will provide to DED during the approval process.
- Fill out the application form available on the DED website. Make sure that every detail you add in this form is accurate. All your business partners will sign this application form.
- Passport copies of all the business partners, including yours
- It is mandatory to provide a building completion certificate alongside the blueprint of your hotel and plot maps.
- A classification card for hotel business
- Passport copy, educational certifications, and experience letter of your hotel manager
- Approval from Dubai police headquarters
- Get an approved Certificate of conduct for your hotel by the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).
Step 4-Approval from DTCM
If you want to get a license, you need approval from DTCM. As we mentioned before, DTCM has provided some rules and regulations that you need to fulfill. Once you have met the criteria, get DTCM approval.
An inspection of your hotel business will be done by authorities. During the inspection, it’s ensured that your business meets all the compliance requirements. If you pass this inspection, you can officially get a hotel business license in Dubai.
Step 5- Apply for tourism license
Now the next step is to get approval for your tourism license, which is issued for a hotel business in Dubai.
Here are some requirements you need to follow for getting this hotel license in Dubai:
- Fee receipt of your initial business approval from DED
- Trade name certificate
- When an international group or chain of hotel is involved, you will provide a NOC
- Register on Ejari and get your tenancy contract and then acquire your unique Ejari number
- You need to provide a tenancy contract from the landlord. This contract should be valid for a minimum of 90 days.
- Get consent from different Dubai departments such as legal departments for sanitation, public health, waste management, Dubai Municipality, etc.
Learn about: How to start a cloud kitchen in Dubai?
Architectural requirements for a hotel business in Dubai
When you are setting up the hotel building, you need to follow some rules and regulations set by authorities for building architecture. Here are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled, if you need business approval or license.
- Your hotel kitchen must have a minimum size of 300 to 380 square feet.
- The hotel space should have proper ventilation and the chimney should be up to 2 meters higher than the nearest building. It’s vital that your drainage pipes are installed at a distance of 2-inches from the wall.
- You must have a proper storage facility for all kinds of food items.
- Your hotel kitchen must have a separate basin for dishwashing, cleaning the food items/vegetables, and meat prep.
What is the cost of a hotel license in Dubai?
To run a hotel in Dubai, you need to get a tourism license. The cost of this license ranges from AED 35000 to AED 45000.
Let Prospr help you with your hotel business setup in Dubai
We understand how complex the whole process of company setup in Dubai is. It involves getting approval from different authorities and then arranging many different documents.
Thereby, we are here to simplify the complete business setup for you. Prospr takes pride in our expert business consultants and legal advisors who always provide the best advice and guidance in this regard. You can contact us : hello@prosprplus.ae
We can plan a consultation session where you can share your business idea with us so our business consultant can take it from there. From getting initial approval to the point when your hotel will be up and running, our business consultants will stand by your side.
