Ever walked through a hotel lobby and thought, I could live here? In Dubai you can.
A hotel residence is an option to own an apartment in a building the hotel brand runs, with its staff and facilities downstairs.
The 144 Armani Residences on levels 9 to 16 of Burj Khalifa work that way, for instance, and so do the one to six-bedroom homes at Address Sky View in Downtown. You get a concierge, housekeeping, restaurants and a gym you never have to think about.
Dubai now has approx 175 branded residence schemes, more than any other city in the world.
In this article you’ll discover the pros and cons to own in a branded hotel residence.
Key takeaways
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Dubai has 175 branded residence schemes, more than any other city, according to Knight Frank's 2026.
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Service charges in Dubai run from about AED 3 to more than AED 30 per square foot a year.
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You can look up the approved service charge for any building on Dubai Land Department's Service Charge Index, or in the DubaiREST app.
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Renting your flat out by the night needs a holiday home permit from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism.
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Our own analysis put the branded price premium at 25% to 35%, with net yields of 4% to 5.5% against 5.8% to 7.2% for prime flats without a brand.
What is a hotel residence?
A hotel residence is a home you own in a building the hotel runs.
You share the address, and often the pool and gym, with people who are there for three nights.
Burj Khalifa shows it best. Armani Hotel Dubai opened on 27 April 2010 with 160 rooms and suites, across the concourse to level 8 and levels 38 and 39. The 144 Armani Residences sit on levels 9 to 16. Giorgio Armani designed both, and Emaar Hotels & Resorts runs the building.
Address Sky View is another great and iconic example and does the same thing in the same district, which our Downtown Dubai area guide covers. Its homes go from one to six bedrooms, with a one-bed at 97.5 sqm and the biggest over 600 sqm, all next to the hotel in the same twin towers.
Hotel brands aren't the only ones playing. Fashion and car brands put their names on Dubai towers too, and our guide to branded residences in Dubai goes through those one by one.
This article is about what it's like to actually own one.
Hotel residence, hotel apartment or serviced apartment?
Three terms, used as if they're the same thing. For a buyer, they really aren't.
A hotel apartment is a hotel room with a kitchen, booked by the night. A serviced apartment is usually rented by the week or month, with cleaning and bills included. A hotel residence is a home you buy, with a title deed, a service charge and a share of the building's shared spaces.
You can see the mix-up in the search numbers. "Hotel apartments dubai" gets about 8,100 Google searches a month in the UAE and "serviced apartments dubai" another 1,600, and most of those people are booking a holiday.
Buyers use different words.
So when an agent says one of the three, check which one they mean before you talk money. The ownership, the costs and the resale all differ.
What do you actually get?
Hotel service at home. What's on the list depends on who runs the building. Usually a concierge, housekeeping, valet, room service, gym, pools and restaurants. Some of it is included, some you pay for each time you use it. Address Sky View describes its approach as "providing peerless service based on the philosophy that our residents deserve only the finest."
Since every building does it differently, get the detail in writing before you buy. Which services the service charge covers, which ones cost extra, hw often housekeeping turns up, whether you get priority or a discount at the restaurants and spa, and whether the pool fills with hotel guests every Saturday.
What does it cost to own?
Two numbers do the work here: the premium on the price, and the service charge.
On price, our analysis of Dubai branded residences put the premium at 25% to 35% over similar homes without a brand.
On running costs, Bayut's service charge guide puts Dubai at AED 3 to more than AED 30 per square foot a year, and the spread is wide. RP Heights, in the Burj Khalifa district, is AED 16.28 per square foot. A villa at Albizia in DAMAC Hills 2 is AED 3.77. Flats cost more because lifts, pools and shared spaces need constant work, and a hotel building has more of all three.
So look up the number for the exact building before you commit. Dubai Land Department publishes approved charges in its Service Charge Index, searchable by title deed, project or map, and the same figures sit in the DubaiREST app. On a 1,500 sq ft flat, the gap between AED 16 and AED 25 per square foot is AED 13,500 a year. Every year, for as long as you own it.
Can you rent it out?
Yes, with the right permit, and sometimes through the hotel itself.
Renting by the night needs a holiday home permit from the Department of Economy and Tourism, which sets out what you need and how to apply. DET sets the fees and the paperwork, so check the current list before you budget.
Plenty of hotel buildings will also rent your home out for you. Less work for you, at a rate the hotel decides, and it comes with conditions. Ask who holds the permit. Ask how the money is split. Ask how many nights a year you can keep for yourself, who pays when the sofa gives up, and whether you can leave the scheme later and rent the place out yourself.
What about yields and resale?
Here's the trade. Branded homes usually earn a bit less rent and sell on a better-known address. Our earlier analysis put net yields at 4% to 5.5% for branded stock, against 5.8% to 7.2% for prime flats without a brand, and the service charge does most of that damage.
Demand is genuinely strong. Knight Frank's Residence Report ranked Dubai first in the world for super-prime sales, at US$8.247 billion in the 12 months to June 2025, with prime prices up 107% over five years to Q2 2025.
Supply is climbing too. Knight Frank's 2026 survey, reported on 16 September 2026, counted 903 schemes worldwide at the end of 2025, around 1,088 in 2026, and close to 1,800 by 2031. The Middle East holds 25% of that pipeline. Liam Bailey, Knight Frank's global head of research, said the market "has trebled in size over the past decade, and we expect it to double again within the next five years."
What does that mean for you? More branded buildings in the same city means more competition on the day you sell or re-let. Buy the well-run building over the newest name.
The Residence Report says the same about the region. The Middle East has 26.7% of the global pipeline and 15.9% of the buildings already open, so a lot is still to come.
Pros and cons at a glance
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Pros |
Cons |
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Hotel service without hiring anyone yourself |
Service charges are among the highest in Dubai |
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Facilities kept to hotel standard |
You pay more to get in |
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Furnished and ready, easy to lock up and leave |
Net yields of 4% to 5.5%, below prime homes without a brand |
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A name tenants and buyers already know |
Service is only as good as the operator's contract |
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You can rent it out through the hotel |
Those terms may sometimes limit your own use of the home |
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Steady international demand for prime Dubai homes |
Plenty more branded stock is coming, so more competition |
Who should buy into a hotel residence?
You, if you're in Dubai part of the year and want a home that looks after itself while you're gone. You, if you'd take the service and the address over the last point of yield. And you, if the alternative is paying for a hotel for weeks at a time anyway.
Less so if you're buying for the return, or if you're here full time with a family and would rather pay for space than service. In that case a big flat or a villa in somewhere like Dubai Hills Estate gives you more for your investment.
Either way, our guide to buying ready property in Dubai walks through what to check on a resale home.
Six questions to ask before you buy into a hotel residence
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What's the approved service charge per square foot here, and what has it done over the last three years? Check the Service Charge Index, not the brochure.
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What does that charge cover, and what costs extra? Ask for the list in writing.
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Who runs the building, how long is the contract, and what happens to the brand and the service if it ends?
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Which pools, gyms and lounges are residents only, and which are shared with guests?
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If you want to rent it out, can you use the hotel's scheme, how is the money split, and can you leave it later?
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What have similar homes here sold for, and how long did they take to sell?
Frequently asked questions
What is a hotel residence in Dubai?
It's a flat you own in a building run by a hotel brand. You get hotel services like a concierge and housekeeping, and you share facilities with guests. Armani Residences on levels 9 to 16 of Burj Khalifa and the homes at Address Sky View are two Dubai examples.
How do I check the service charge for a building in Dubai?
You can check the Dubai Land Department's Service Charge Index. Search by title deed number, project or map, or find the same figures in the DubaiREST app.
Can I rent out a hotel residence on Airbnb?
Renting by the night needs a holiday home permit from Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism. Some hotel buildings also run their own rental scheme, with their own split of the money and rules on how many nights you can keep.
What rental yield do branded residences get in Dubai?
Our analysis put net yields at 4% to 5.5% for branded homes, against 5.8% to 7.2% for prime flats without a brand. Service charges explain most of the gap.
How many branded residences does Dubai have?
175, more than any other city, according to Knight Frank's 2026 survey.
Is a hotel residence a good investment in Dubai?
Depends what you want from it. Demand for prime Dubai property is strong, and Knight Frank ranked the city first in the world for super-prime sales at US$8.247 billion in the 12 months to June 2025. But costs are higher and yields lower than prime homes without a brand, so it suits buyers who want the service and the address.
Do residents share facilities with hotel guests?
Often, yes, and it differs by building. Ask which pools, gyms and lounges are residents only before you buy.
