Concierge Support or Full-Time Staff? How to Choose in Dubai

Two different jobs

The question is often framed as either-or, but it is really about which job needs doing. A housekeeper, nanny, driver or cook does hands-on work in the home, every day. A personal assistant or household manager plans, books, follows up and solves problems — the work that happens on the phone and in the calendar rather than in the kitchen.

Many households need both. The mistake is expecting one to do the other: asking a housekeeper to manage contractors and building permits, or asking a remote assistant to handle daily childcare.

Side-by-side comparison

What employing staff in the UAE involves

Domestic workers in the UAE are covered by a dedicated federal law, and recruitment is normally through licensed Tadbeer centres or agencies. As the sponsor you are typically responsible for the visa, medical test, Emirates ID, health insurance, a standard contract, paid annual leave, a return ticket and an end-of-service payment. The official rules and forms are published by MOHRE.

None of this is a reason not to employ staff — good staff are invaluable. It is a reason to plan the hire properly and to be clear about who manages them day to day.

• Role and hours written down before recruiting
• Recruitment through a licensed centre or agency
• Standard contract signed
• Visa, medical, Emirates ID and insurance arranged
• Room, days off and leave agreed
• One person responsible for their weekly schedule

Comparing the true cost, not the headline

People usually compare a monthly salary against a monthly fee, which is the wrong comparison. Employing someone brings costs that never appear in the salary line: visa and medical, Emirates ID, health insurance, accommodation and utilities if they live in, food, an annual return ticket, paid leave and an end-of-service payment. There is also your own time — recruiting, training, scheduling and managing a person is itself a job.

A service agreement moves those obligations to the provider, but it buys you hours of coordination rather than a permanent pair of hands. Neither is cheaper in the abstract. The useful question is which type of work your household actually generates in a typical month, and whether it is steady enough to justify a full-time role.

• Write down the tasks of an actual recent month, not an average one
• Split them into hands-on work and coordination
• Count how many hours each really took, including waiting and chasing
• Add the employer obligations to any salary figure before comparing
• Ask what happens to each task during a month when you travel

Privacy, discretion and the household you live in

Anyone working in your home sees your life. With live-in staff that is constant, and it is one of the reasons some families prefer to keep hands-on help part-time and bring in a manager who works around the household rather than inside it. Others find the opposite: one trusted person who lives with the family and knows how everything works is worth more than any system.

Whichever you choose, set the expectation in writing at the start: what may be discussed outside the house, how guests and deliveries are handled, who may be given access, and how photographs are treated. In hospitality this is trained into every member of staff on day one. In a private home nobody trains it, which is why it has to be said plainly and early.

• Confidentiality expectations written into the agreement
• A clear rule on photographs inside the home
• An agreed list of who may be admitted when you are away
• One channel for household communication, not five chat groups
• A review conversation after the first month, then quarterly

When full-time staff is the right choice

• Young children who need daily care at home
• Large homes that need cleaning every day
• Families who cook at home most evenings and want a cook
• A household that needs a daily driver for school and work

When a personal assistant or household manager is the right choice

• You travel often and the home needs someone to keep it running
• Maintenance, suppliers and building requests take up your weekends
• You have staff, but nobody plans their week or checks the work
• You host regularly and want events handled end to end
• You are newly arrived and need help setting everything up

The household help guide lists the recurring tasks in a Dubai home and who usually owns them.

Combining both

In many of the best-run homes our founder, Natig Rashidli, worked around in hospitality, including at Bulgari Hotel Dubai, the pattern was the same: skilled people doing the hands-on work, and one person making sure it all fitted together. At home, that means a housekeeper or nanny for daily work and a household manager who plans the week, books suppliers, handles the building and prepares for guests.

If you host at home, that coordination matters most on the day — see the private dinner guide.

What a month actually looks like

An ordinary month in a household we look after has no drama in it, which is the point. The week opens with a short list: what is booked, what is outstanding, what needs a decision from the family. Suppliers are confirmed the day before rather than hoped for on the morning. Bills are checked against last month, and anything unusual is queried while it is still small.

Around that rhythm sit the things that only appear sometimes — a visa renewal, a school form, guests arriving for a week, a car service, a delivery that needs a permit and a booked service lift. None of these is difficult on its own. What makes them heavy is that they arrive unannounced, in the middle of a working day, and each one needs three phone calls before it is resolved. Moving that work to one person who expects it is the whole proposition.

• A short weekly plan agreed with the family
• Suppliers confirmed a day ahead, then checked on site
• Bills reviewed against the previous month
• One written update: done, booked, waiting on a decision
• Renewals tracked well before they expire

A five-question decision checklist

• Is the work mainly hands-on or mainly coordination?
• Is it needed every day or in bursts?
• Are you ready to take on sponsorship obligations?
• Who manages the house when you travel?
• Who plans and checks the work of any staff you have?

Where SETTRA fits in

SETTRA provides personal assistant and household management services: one person, direct access, with prices published. We do not recruit or place staff. If you already have staff, we can set routines and handle the coordination around them. Details are on the personal assistant page and packages on the pricing page.