Asked for the UAE about hotels and holiday rentals, the engines read Booking.com, Expedia and Google Hotels and TripAdvisor first. The DTCM (Dubai) and DCT (Abu Dhabi) classifications are read as the star rating, and holiday homes are checked for the DTCM permit number, which the engines expect on the listing. The rate band in AED on the site, and the direct-booking offer as a number.
What UAE buyers ask the engines about hotels and holiday rentals
The emirate is in the sentence, and so is the licence, the insurer or the free zone when the trade has one. Six of the questions the report puts to the four engines for a hotel in the UAE:
| Kind | The question, as asked |
|---|---|
| Head term | best family hotel in Dubai with a water park |
| Product | which Abu Dhabi hotels sell a beach day pass |
| Niche | boutique hotel in Ras Al Khaimah for a couple under AED 800 a night |
| Comparison | staying in the Palm vs Downtown for a first visit to Dubai |
| Comparison | holiday home vs hotel for a family of five in Dubai for a week |
| Niche | hotel near DXB with a free shuttle and a late checkout |
The UAE sources the engines read for hotels and holiday rentals
Asked for the UAE, the engines read UAE pages: the registers, the local directories, the Gulf press. For hotels and holiday rentals:
| Source | What it decides |
|---|---|
| Booking.com, Expedia and Google Hotels | score, count and price band |
| TripAdvisor | the city ranking and the review themes |
| Time Out Dubai, Condé Nast Traveller Middle East, Visit Dubai | 'best hotels in Dubai' lists |
| The DTCM classification and holiday home permits | the star rating and, for holiday homes, the permit are checked |
| Reddit r/dubai and r/travel | 'where to stay' threads |
What the engines check before they name you
The DTCM (Dubai) and DCT (Abu Dhabi) classifications are read as the star rating, and holiday homes are checked for the DTCM permit number, which the engines expect on the listing. Day pass, alcohol licence and 'family-friendly' are UAE-specific questions and are answered from the hotel's own pages when they state them.
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, the Northern Emirates
The engines answer per emirate, from pages that name it. How the questions differ for this trade:
- Dubai: the Palm, Downtown, JBR, the Marina; family and water-park questions.
- Abu Dhabi: Saadiyat and Yas; beach access and Ferrari World questions.
- Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Ajman: beach resorts and price-led questions; less competition per question than Dubai.
Arabic
GCC visitors ask in Arabic at a high rate, above all for Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Arabic room and offer pages are quoted for them.
Prices in dirhams
The rate band in AED on the site, and the direct-booking offer as a number. 'Hotel in RAK under AED 800' is answered from pages that state a rate.
The names a UAE buyer already knows
The large names in the trade, Jumeirah, Atlantis, Rotana, Emaar Hospitality, Rixos, are the ones a buyer arrives with, and the ones the report's comparison questions are written against ('X alternatives', 'you vs X'). Whether the engines put them ahead of you, or in your place, is what the report measures, question by question, for the UAE market.
What a month of work looks like in the UAE
The Grow plan's goal for a hotel here: get named in the five facility-and-area questions in the UAE where Booking.com or a flagship is named and your hotel is not. The work starts with Booking.com, Expedia and Google Hotels, then the pages of yours the engines quote, in English and, where the trade needs it, Arabic, with a rescan on the same questions for the UAE market at month's end. The plans are priced on the home page.
Read next
Hotels and holiday rentals, everywhere · The UAE market · Schools and training providers in the UAE · Logistics and freight companies in the UAE · Manufacturers in the UAE
Questions
Which licence do the engines check for a hotel in the UAE?
The DTCM (Dubai) and DCT (Abu Dhabi) classifications are read as the star rating, and holiday homes are checked for the DTCM permit number, which the engines expect on the listing.
Does Arabic matter for a hotel in the UAE?
GCC visitors ask in Arabic at a high rate, above all for Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Arabic room and offer pages are quoted for them.
What price should be on the page?
The rate band in AED on the site, and the direct-booking offer as a number. 'Hotel in RAK under AED 800' is answered from pages that state a rate.
See who the engines name in the UAE
Your website, region and work email. The score appears in about three minutes, and the report is a link you keep.