A woman who looks after more than 50 rescued cats and 30 horses in Abu Dhabi aims to open an Airbnb for animal lovers.
Yasmin Sayyed, who has lived in the UAE since 2004, has found a large villa in Al Falah that will house all her rescued cats, with room for guests, who will be welcome to pet the animals and take care of them during their stay.
For the past six years, Ms Sayyed's cats have lived with her in a small cabin on the grounds of a friend’s property in Al Shalila, near Al Rabah.
But the site is now being redeveloped, forcing her to move on.
She hopes the new villa can be converted into a non-profit Airbnb.
“We want to continue to help animals. Sometimes people call me to take in a pet goat or a pet sheep. And I can’t facilitate that just now,” said Ms Sayyed, 47, who is half Greek, half Palestinian, and grew up in Germany.
“The place I have found has a lot of rooms. The goal would be to offer Airbnb for animal lovers. Cats who don’t get enough love from me will get more love from the people who stay there.
“I could make four bedrooms out of it to rent and maybe a meditation and yoga room. So we could do something that would make people feel good so we can help people and animals.”
She hopes the venture will help her cover the cost of keeping her cats, which eat Dh400 ($108) of food every day. She accepts food donations but still struggles to make ends meet.
“Many of them are fluffy,” she said. “We cannot give them cheap food. There are a lot of cats with liver and kidney problems.”
Ms Sayyed also runs Ride to Rescue, a company that rescues and rehabilitates horses in the UAE, generating income through holiday camps for children, riding lessons and beach rides. But there is always a shortfall, she said.
She has 34 horses in her care, only some of which can be ridden. Most of them are housed in stables in Mandara Equestrian Club near Shahama, but she plans to move some of them to another stables in the year to save money.
“We spend more than Dh120,000 each month homing and feeding the horses,” she said.
“We can’t cover this through our rides. We are always minus, minus, minus.
“Last night a horse had colic and I was thinking to bring it to the hospital. But bringing it to the hospital means maybe Dh30,000 or Dh40,000.
“We would like to earn money but it’s not so easy with so many non-working animals. But I believe if people make adoptions and come for riding, it can work out.”
She hopes that one day she will be able to persuade companies and people to sponsor Ride to Rescue to ensure its future.
“If we had four or five companies, it would be a big relief,” she said.
“If people would like to visit us, adopt the cats [it would help]. Horse adoption means they can decide how much to pay. But the horse stays in our care.
“We can determine a time they can come and care for them. And if they have little children maybe they can come and ride them.”
Ride to Rescue will hold an open day at Mandara Stables on June 18. Contact the company on 0564819410 for more information.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
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Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
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Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
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Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
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Goalkeepers Henderson, Johnstone, Pickford, Ramsdale
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Euro 2020 qualifier
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
