First Class Property Management Dubai Review: Scale, Reviews and the Numbers That Don't Match
A neutral look at what First Class Property Management charges in Dubai, how it operates, and a Trustpilot rating suspension owners should know about before comparing it to a smaller boutique manager.
The Verdict
First Class Property Management is a real, active Dubai short-term rental operator. Its own site states it was founded in 2020 by Rohollah Rohparwar and Luis Santos, and it runs a real Dubai office at Al Zarouni Business Centre on Sheikh Zayed Road in Al Barsha First. By its own best-corroborated count (its About page and an independent third-party Dubai business directory both agree), it manages 400+ holiday homes across Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, JBR, Downtown Dubai and Business Bay, distributing listings across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia and Agoda alongside its own direct-booking site.
What owners should weigh most carefully is the review picture, not the scale. As of this review, Trustpilot shows First Class with 257 reviews (93% five-star, 7% one-star) but had suspended the company's overall displayed rating for a breach of Trustpilot's own guidelines, after removing a number of reviews it identified as violations. That sits alongside a set of far more flattering, self-reported figures on First Class's own site, a near-5-star Airbnb rating and thousands of Booking.com and Google reviews it has not made independently verifiable. Owners considering First Class should read both pictures side by side, not just the one the company presents.
None of this makes First Class an obviously poor choice. Its portfolio and multi-platform distribution are real and its office is a genuine, checkable address. But its management fee is not published anywhere, its portfolio figure shifts between 400+, 500+ and 600+ depending on which page of its own site is read, and the Trustpilot suspension is a dated, sourced finding worth asking about directly rather than assuming away.
At a Glance
The table below summarises First Class Property Management's own published figures alongside independently verified findings, current as of the date of this review.
| Metric | First Class Property Management |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020, by Rohollah Rohparwar and Luis Santos |
| Dubai Office | Al Zarouni Business Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road, Al Barsha First, Dubai |
| Management Fee | Not publicly disclosed; a third-party directory states pricing is shared during onboarding |
| Portfolio Size | 400+ holiday homes per its About page and a third-party directory; other pages on its own site cite 500+ or more, so the company has not settled on one figure |
| Dubai Coverage | Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Marina, JBR, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay (broader "across Dubai" coverage claimed, not itemized) |
| Trustpilot | 257 reviews, 93% five-star / 7% one-star; overall rating suspended for a guideline breach as of this review |
| Airbnb / Booking.com / Google (self-reported) | 4.92-4.98/5 "Guest Favourite" (10,000+-12,160+ reviews); 9.5-9.6/10 (2,200-2,550+ reviews); 4.9 stars (480+ reviews). All shown on First Class's own site, not independently confirmed |
Figures sourced directly from firstclass-dxb.com and Trustpilot (trustpilot.com/review/firstclass-dxb.com) at the time of writing. A figure that was not published, conflicted across the company's own pages, or could not be independently confirmed is noted as such instead of a number being picked.
What First Class Offers in Dubai
First Class's Dubai offer is a full-service package covering listing distribution, guest operations and compliance, built around the founders' own description of a data-driven, engineering-minded approach to running a portfolio at scale.
- Multi-platform listing: distribution across Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo, Expedia and Agoda, plus its own direct-booking site.
- Dynamic pricing: AI-assisted rate adjustments described as updated daily on First Class's property-management page.
- 24/7 multilingual guest communication: handled by four dedicated teams, Client, Revenue, Admin and Guest, per its own site.
- Turnover operations: hotel-grade cleaning, inspections and preparation between guest stays.
- DTCM compliance handling: registrations, permits, guest registration and tourism fees managed on the owner's behalf.
- Monthly financial reporting: owner statements issued on the 10th of each month, with payouts on the 15th.
- Interior design and furnishing: listed as a distinct service line in its site navigation, without further detail published.
On performance, First Class states a 94% average year-round occupancy rate and claims 27% higher returns than long-term rental, both figures repeated consistently across its own site and an independent third-party Dubai business directory. First Class does not publish the methodology behind either claim, so they should be read as the company's own reported performance, not an independently audited figure.
Pricing
First Class Property Management does not publish a management fee percentage on any of its main service pages (its About, Property Management or Airbnb Property Management pages were all checked). A third-party Dubai business directory listing states explicitly that "management fees vary by service level" and that full pricing is shared "transparently during onboarding" rather than upfront.
One unverified figure circulating online claims fees start around 12%, but this could not be confirmed on First Class's own site and should not be treated as fact. Owners should request a written fee quote directly before comparing First Class's rate to a competitor that publishes its commission openly.
Reputation
This is where First Class's public profile gets complicated. As of this review, First Class's own Trustpilot business page (trustpilot.com/review/firstclass-dxb.com) shows 257 reviews with a striking distribution, 93% five-star and 7% one-star, with nothing at all recorded in the two, three or four-star range, an unusually polarized spread for a services business. More significantly, Trustpilot was displaying the page's overall star rating as unavailable, flagged as suspended for a breach of Trustpilot's review guidelines, after the platform removed a number of reviews it identified as violations.
The individual reviews still visible tell a mixed story. Positive reviews single out named staff members for professionalism and ease of onboarding a rental property. At least one detailed negative review, headlined "Avoid This Company at All Costs," describes an apartment booking cancelled hours before arrival with no alternative or compensation offered.
Away from Trustpilot, First Class's own site tells a very different story: a 4.92 to 4.98-star "Guest Favourite" rating on Airbnb from more than 10,000 reviews (one page states 12,160+), a 9.5 to 9.6 out of 10 rating on Booking.com from 2,200 to 2,550+ reviews, and 4.9 stars from 480+ Google reviews. All three figures are shown on First Class's own site, not pulled independently from Airbnb, Booking.com or Google, so they should be read as company-stated claims, not confirmed third-party ratings. Owners weighing First Class should look at the Trustpilot picture and these self-reported figures together, not just the flattering half.
Who First Class Suits
First Class tends to suit owners who want a large, established Dubai-only operator with real scale (400+ properties by its best-corroborated figure) and distribution across five booking platforms instead of Airbnb alone, and who are comfortable requesting fee details directly, without a published rate upfront.
An owner who wants full pricing transparency before any conversation, or who is uncomfortable placing a property with a management company whose Trustpilot rating is currently flagged for a guideline breach, may prefer an operator that publishes both its fee and a clean, unsuspended review record.
Tradeoffs to Weigh
- Undisclosed fee: no published management percentage anywhere on First Class's main pages, unlike a competitor that states its rate upfront.
- Suspended Trustpilot rating: 257 reviews with a genuinely mixed record, and an overall rating currently unavailable after a guideline-breach flag, a real point worth asking about directly.
- Inconsistent portfolio figures: 400+, 500+ and 600+ all appear across First Class's own site, with no single settled number.
- Self-reported platform ratings: the Airbnb, Booking.com and Google figures shown on First Class's site are not independently pulled from those platforms.
Where a Boutique Alternative Fits
For an owner weighing First Class's Dubai-wide scale against a smaller, single-city operator, Royale Stays is a Dubai-only boutique manager charging from 15%, a published rate, not one shared only during onboarding. It covers the same core service areas, furnishing, photography, pricing, check-in and guest communications, at a 5.0-star rating from 46 reviews, a smaller sample than First Class's Trustpilot count but a clean, unsuspended, verifiable Dubai-only record. Owners weighing the two can compare with Royale Stays Airbnb management before deciding.
Questions