Accounting software for holiday home operators in UAE managing units for owners

An operator handles money that belongs partly to owners and partly to itself. HelloBooks sets up operators with owner liability accounts and a class for each unit.

• Guest booking income by channel: platforms and direct bookings
• Platform commissions and payment fees
• Owner balances payable, one account or class per owner and unit
• Management fee income retained by the operator
• Cleaning, linen, maintenance, utilities and guest amenities per unit
• Fees collected from guests on behalf of the authorities

In Dubai, holiday homes are regulated by the Department of Economy and Tourism, which issues holiday home permits and registers holiday home operators. The department has also set rules for calculating, collecting and paying the Tourism Dirham fee. HelloBooks can hold any fee you collect from guests in its own liability account until it is paid over, but the rates and filing steps come from the department, not from us.

VAT needs care. The FTA’s real estate guide excludes hotels, motels, bed and breakfast establishments and serviced apartments where services beyond accommodation are provided from the definition of a residential building, and government sector guidance lists hotels, motels and serviced accommodation as standard-rated at 5%. Whether a particular holiday home falls on that side, and whether the operator or the owner is the supplier, depends on the facts and contracts. Get a tax agent’s view before setting your treatment; HelloBooks then applies it to every booking.

Upload each platform’s payout report and the agent records gross booking value, commission and net payout per unit, then matches the payout to your bank statement upload. Cleaning and linen invoices are read and allocated to units. At month end it drafts each owner statement: nights booked, revenue, costs, your management fee and the balance due.

Ask “what was occupancy for the JBR units in August?” or “which owners have negative balances after maintenance?” You approve every owner statement and payout before money leaves your account.

Revenue per unit, occupancy, cost per stay and owner balances are the core reports. A one-bed unit earning AED 14,200 in a month, with AED 1,900 of platform fees, AED 1,300 of cleaning and a 20% fee on net revenue, shows the owner exactly how the payout was reached.

Owner statement layouts, fee formulas and approval rules for repairs above a set amount can be configured for your contracts. Book at /book-a-demo or email hello@hellobooks.ai to agree the owner terms.