Dubai-Based marketplace OneClickDrive reports longer luxury car rental durations during New Year travel period
New Year booking data released by Dubai-based car rental marketplace OneClickDrive indicates that international visitors renting luxury vehicles during the year-end and early January period tended to book for longer durations compared with economy car renters, based on activity recorded on the platform.
The New Year travel period emerged as a peak window in which luxury car rentals were used for extended periods, with booking data suggesting that some visitors relied on premium vehicles for everyday mobility rather than short, experience-driven hires. According to the data, average rental durations for luxury vehicles during the year-end and early January period were approximately 25–30% longer than those for standard economy cars, indicating a measurable difference in usage between vehicle segments on the platform.
The figures relate to bookings made by international visitors and cover activity recorded around late December and early January.
Longer rentals were associated with higher per-booking value
While economy vehicles continued to account for the largest share of total bookings on the platform, luxury car rental in Dubai was more commonly associated with longer rental periods. These longer durations typically generated higher revenue per booking, even when overall booking volumes remained lower than those of economy vehicles.
According to the platform’s data, luxury SUVs and premium sedans accounted for a significant share of rentals lasting five days or more during the New Year period, compared with shorter average rental durations for economy vehicles. Industry observers note that longer rental cycles are commonly tracked as a performance indicator in the car rental sector, as they can improve fleet utilisation while reducing vehicle turnaround frequency.
Mobility needs shaped by Dubai’s geography
Dubai’s tourist infrastructure is spread across multiple districts, including Downtown, Dubai Marina, beachfront areas, desert attractions, and neighbouring emirates. During peak travel periods, this geographic distribution can increase the practical value of self-drive transport, particularly for visitors combining leisure activities, events, and business commitments within a single stay.
This context provides background for why luxury car rentals in Dubai were, in some cases, used as primary transport rather than as a discretionary upgrade during the New Year travel period, based on observed platform usage.
Advance bookings reflected planning and pricing behaviour
Booking data from OneClickDrive showed that more than 65% of luxury rental searches linked to New Year travel were made before visitors arrived in Dubai. This compared with a higher proportion of last-minute bookings in the economy segment.
Early booking behaviour is considered significant for pricing and yield management and suggests that vehicle selection had become part of core trip planning alongside flights and accommodation. Rather than contacting individual rental operators, visitors increasingly compared vehicles, pricing, and availability across multiple suppliers in one place when browsing luxury car rental offers ahead of travel. Company figures indicated that more than 2,000 premium vehicles were listed on the platform during the period analysed.
Financial realities behind the trend
Despite longer rental durations, analysts caution that growth in luxury car rental activity does not automatically translate into proportional increases in profitability. Acquisition costs, insurance, maintenance, and depreciation remain materially higher for premium vehicles than for economy cars.
Seasonality also plays a role. Demand during the New Year period benefits from elevated tourist volumes, while vehicle utilisation outside peak travel windows can be more variable.
A signal beyond the holiday period
While the New Year window acted as a pressure point, the data pointed to patterns that may suggest a broader repositioning of the luxury rental segment within Dubai’s mobility market. Similar tendencies toward longer rental durations and advance booking behaviour have been observed on the platform during other high-traffic travel periods.
As with other peak travel windows in Dubai, the New Year period appeared to reveal underlying usage behaviour rather than create it.
Limits of the data
The figures are based on booking and usage patterns recorded on the OneClickDrive platform rather than completed or fulfilled rentals and have not been independently audited. Rental activity remains sensitive to external factors such as airline capacity, hotel occupancy, seasonal travel flows, and broader economic conditions.
While the data does not claim to represent the wider Dubai car rental market, it offers insight into how luxury car rentals were being used within the platform during a key travel period, with longer rental durations more commonly associated with extended and multi-purpose stays.
