Dubai vs St Barts: what does a luxury home really earn?
| What we measure | Dubai | St Barts |
|---|---|---|
| Nightly rate, high season | €1,050 | €2,700 |
| Nightly rate, low season | €470 | €850 |
| Nights sold, high season | 95 | 85 |
| Nights sold, low season | 75 | 60 |
| Total nights sold per year | 170 | 145 |
| Gross annual income | €135,000 | €281,000 |
| What an agency takes | 30% | 45% |
| Net, self-managed on a platform | €114,000 | €237,000 |
| Net, through an agency | €94,500 | €154,000 |
All figures on this page are shown in euros, on both sides, so the two columns can be compared. The individual market pages show local currency.
The number that actually changes the answer
This is where the comparison turns. An agency takes about 30% in Dubai and about 45% in St Barts. Manage the property yourself on a platform and you lose about 15.5% in either. The commission gap can be worth more than the difference in gross, which is why comparing headline revenue alone is how owners get this decision wrong.
The two markets do not earn their money the same way
Dubai sells 95 nights at €1,050 and 75 outside the peak. St Barts sells 85 at €2,700 and 60 outside it. St Barts concentrates its year into fewer, more expensive nights. Dubai spreads it across more of them. The annual totals can land close together while the risk does not: the concentrated market punishes a lost peak week far harder than the longer season does. Which of the two you want depends on whether the property has to pay for itself, or merely help.
Because it is the most misleading number in this business, and it is the one every other site quotes. An occupancy rate of 50% sounds moderate. Multiply it by 365 and you have implied 182 nights sold. A seasonal home does not sell 182 nights. It sells the weeks people want and stands empty the rest of the year, and nobody is even trying to rent it in November. The occupancy model overstates seasonal markets by roughly a factor of two. We count nights actually sold, and nothing else.
What we know here, and what we are still estimating
The St Barts figures were confirmed by an operator who ran villas there, set the prices and paid the staff. The Dubai figures are still our estimate, built from comparable markets and public rate data, and we say so rather than pretend to a certainty we do not have. If you own in Dubai, tell us what you actually earned and this page gets better.
Which of the two is your home in?
Three questions and we will tell you what yours specifically can earn, not what the market average earns. Free, and free permanently.
Estimate my home →Questions owners ask about these two markets
Does a luxury home earn more in Dubai or in St Barts?
St Barts, by about 108%. Roughly €135,000 a year in Dubai against €281,000 in St Barts, for the same well-maintained 4-bedroom home, professionally marketed. That is gross. What reaches your account depends on whether you self-manage or hand it to an agency, and the gap between those two outcomes is larger than the gap between these two markets.
How many nights a year does a home actually rent in Dubai and St Barts?
About 170 in Dubai and 145 in St Barts, on our benchmark. Nights sold, not occupancy. We never quote an occupancy percentage because multiplying one by 365 flatters a seasonal market by roughly a factor of two: the home is not on the market for most of the year, and nobody is trying to sell it in November.
Is Dubai or St Barts the better investment?
This page cannot tell you, and anyone who claims it can is selling you something. Rental income is one half of a yield. The purchase price is the other half, and it varies more between two streets than it does between two countries. A high gross on a very expensive property is frequently a worse investment than a modest gross on a cheap one. Get both numbers before you decide.
What does an agency take in Dubai compared to St Barts?
About 30% in Dubai and about 45% in St Barts, of everything the guest pays, before a single bill is settled. Self-managing on a platform costs about 15.5%. Nobody publishes these figures because every party in the chain benefits from the owner not knowing them. Our team has worked both sides of that trade, which is how we know.
Estimates are based on destination benchmarks and property attributes, not on a formal appraisal. Amounts are shown in local currency using approximate conversion rates. Actual results depend on marketing, pricing strategy and seasonality. Last updated 29/07/2026.