Luis Santos
AboutVenturesInvestInsightsTravel JournalPressReach outSubscribe
Press & speaking

In the press. On stage.
On air.

By-lined op-eds in Construction Week and CEO Middle East, coverage of the UAE rental market in Arabian Business, Gulf News, Skift, The National and Khaleej Times, broadcast interviews on Dubai Eye 103.8 and Dubai One TV, and sessions from the Airbnb Masterclass to Hostaway London. The full interviews are below.

In the media

Selected coverage

Construction WeekWhy more people are choosing to live in Business BayOp-ed · October 2026→CEO Middle EastDubai’s best rental areas of 2029 don’t have rentals yetOp-ed · September 2026→Gulf NewsDh5,000 a night: Yas Island homes cash in on F1 weekOctober 2026→SkiftUAE hotels lean on short-haul markets to drive recoveryOctober 2026→The Gulf PulseWhat do Dubai holiday home owners earn after costs?October 2026→Short Term RentalzHow Dubai’s STR market is adapting to geopolitical uncertaintyOctober 2026→Khaleej TimesSome holiday home owners may move to Dubai shared housing, say industry executivesOctober 2026→EnterpriseAMScale and flexibility got Dubai’s holiday-home operators through the warSeptember 2026→The NationalMore UAE residents are opting for monthly rentals. Here’s whyAugust 2026→The Gulf PulseDubai owners reassess holiday homes as returns tightenAugust 2026→The NationalDemand for cheaper cars and shorter rents signals changing attitudes among UAE consumersJuly 2026→NuktaDubai holiday rental revenue falls 46.5%, but returns beat long-term rentalsJuly 2026→Khaleej TimesNew or old tenants? Who is the bigger beneficiary of Abu Dhabi's rent freezeJune 2026→The Coin HeadlinesThis Dubai holiday home accepts crypto as payment, here's why it makes senseJune 2026→SkiftDubai's $400M in Tourism Aid Buys Time. Operators See Empty Rooms.May 2026→ScaleRentals WireMid-term rentals are becoming the core of the STR modelMay 2026→TechRevoltWhile Dubai's operators race to cut costs, one proptech operator is acquiringMay 2026→Gulf NewsCeasefire lifts UAE tourism mood, travel industry cautiously gears up for recoveryApril 2026→The NationalDubai property market dips but homes keep on sellingApril 2026→The Gulf PulseDubai rental shift: short stays drop as monthly demand risesApril 2026→
On air

The broadcast archive.

Dubai Eye 103.827 October 2026

Dubai’s rental market is turning.

On the Q3 2026 First Class UAE Short-Term Rental Index and the turn now showing in the data: what has shifted since August, which signals are coming through, and what they mean for property owners and investors over the months ahead.

Luis Santos on Dubai Eye 103.8, in studio
Morning Drive · Mira Business FM26 October 2026 · Ep 764

December rates jump 18 per cent as winter demand builds.

With Tim Elliott on Mira Business FM’s weekday Morning Drive, breaking down the Q3 2026 numbers from the First Class UAE Short-Term Rental Index and what they signal for the winter quarter: revenue recovering across the market, winter bookings climbing, and December nightly rates running 18 per cent above the same month last year, with professionally managed homes ahead of the wider market.

Listen on Apple Podcasts · Spotify 22 minutes

The Luxe Life · Mashable Middle EastOctober 2026

Inside a four-bedroom beach-facing villa on Palm Jumeirah.

Episode 4 of The Luxe Life, Mashable Middle East’s property series. Hosting the team inside a four-bedroom beach-facing villa on Palm Jumeirah, walking them through the home and the operation that runs it.

The Luxe Life, Mashable Middle East, inside a Palm Jumeirah villa
The Agenda · Dubai Eye 103.87 August 2026

The population rebound, and monthly stays as the front door to the city.

In conversation with Katie Chambers on why the recovery is running through residents first: furnished monthly stays have become how people arrive in the city, and how they come back to it. The number the discussion was built on: 69.4 per cent of the portfolio’s Q2 nights were stays of 29 nights or longer, drawn from the inaugural First Class UAE Short-Term Rental Index.

The Agenda, Dubai Eye 103.8, in studio with Katie Chambers
This Week in Business · Arabian Business31 July 2026

Q2 for the UAE’s short-term rentals, inside the week’s news.

With Tala Michel Issa and Tom Evans on the Arabian Business weekly news podcast, walking through what the quarter did to short-term rental owners: softer bookings, sharper competition, and guests deciding later than ever. The First Class UAE Short-Term Rental Index supplied the numbers, placed in the same rundown as the region’s biggest stories, which is where market data belongs.

Listen on Apple Podcasts → the Index segment from 6:12

The Business Breakfast · Dubai Eye 103.828 July 2026

Introducing the First Class UAE Short-Term Rental Index.

The first broadcast conversation on the inaugural First Class UAE Short-Term Rental Index, Q2 2026, with Brandy Scott: what a hard quarter actually showed. Market occupancy averaged 48 per cent while the First Class portfolio held 87, the gap that professional management opened when demand shifted.

The Business Breakfast, Dubai Eye 103.8, with Brandy Scott
Morning Drive · Mira Business FMMay 2026

Flexible living surges as residents replace tourists.

With Tim Elliott, on the structural shift showing up in our live booking data: traditional holiday bookings falling away while flexible monthly stays climb across the portfolio. The conversation covers what that recalibration does to an operator’s model, and why we kept expanding through it.

Watch the interview →

In conversation with
MiraFM
On stage

Selected engagements.

Airbnb Masterclass

Dubai · 2025

Leading a session for hosts on running short-term rentals as a real operation, not a side income.

Hostaway User Conference

London · 2026

Speaking at the annual conference for professional property managers.

Scale

UAE · 2025

On operations and growth in the short-term rental market.

STR Club

Dubai · 2026

Presenting the structural shift underway in the Dubai rental market.

Interviews & invitations

Get in touch.

For panels, keynotes, or podcast appearances on property, operations, or building in the Gulf, email directly.

hello@luissantos.co