XVA Gallery & Hotel

What XVA Gallery & Hotel does

XVA Gallery & Hotel is a privately-held, founder-owned arts and hospitality enterprise based in Dubai's Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood. Founded in 2003 by Mona Hauser and operating with 17 employees, the business integrates four product lines within a single heritage property: a contemporary art gallery specializing in works from the Arab world, Iran, and the Subcontinent; a 15-room boutique hotel housed in the former Seddiqi family residence; a vegetarian café serving in three shaded courtyards; and an art consultancy service for collectors and corporate clients.

The underlying business model is a community-led, physical-first hybrid that monetizes through art commission sales, hotel accommodation revenue, café transactions, and professional advisory fees. Distribution is entirely domestic-UAE, relying on a single-location venue in Bur Dubai, complemented by an e-commerce shop (xvashop.com) for art merchandise. A minimal marketing footprint — organic Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and a newsletter — supports brand presence, with the café and gallery operating free of charge to drive footfall.

The company has no disclosed funding, no institutional investors, no subsidiaries, and no M&A activity. Its competitive positioning rests on a 20+ year curated artist roster, the irreplicable heritage infrastructure of the Al Fahidi wind-tower building, and a multi-revenue conglomerate structure that cross-pollinates collectors, tourists, and diners. Recent activity includes a 2026 partnership with the UAE Ministry of Culture's Modern Heritage Grant Program and a steady cadence of curated exhibitions throughout 2026.

Name

XVA Gallery & Hotel

Legal name

XVA Gallery & Hotel

Website

https://xvagallery.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

XVA Gallery & Hotel is a founder-owned Dubai arts and hospitality business combining a contemporary art gallery, 15-room boutique hotel, and vegetarian café in a single heritage building in the Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood. It serves art collectors, cultural tourists, and diners since 2003.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Art Dealers (45992), Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels (72111), Other Traveler Accommodation (72119)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Art & Culture (Gallery/Museum) Hotels (THAGADAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Boutique Inns (THAGAHAB)

Keywords

• Contemporary art gallery
• Boutique hotel
• Art consultancy
• Vegetarian restaurant
• Hospitality services

Headquarters

HQ city

Dubai

HQ country

United Arab Emirates

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Revenue model

1. Art Sales: Commission-based sales of contemporary art from Arab world, Iran, and Subcontinent artists through gallery exhibitions and art consultancy services.
2. Hotel Accommodations: Boutique hotel with 15 individually designed suites and rooms in heritage building. Revenue from overnight stays and hospitality services.
3. Café Operations: Middle Eastern inspired vegetarian restaurant open daily 7am-10pm, serving freshly prepared vegetarian and vegan food in three courtyard settings.
4. Art Consultancy: Advisory services for collectors and corporations seeking to acquire contemporary art from the region.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

XVA Gallery & Hotel operates a contemporary art gallery, a 15-room boutique hotel, and a vegetarian Middle Eastern café from a heritage wind-tower building in Dubai's Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood. It sells and exhibits contemporary art from the Arab world, Iran, and the Subcontinent, provides overnight accommodation in individually designed suites, and serves vegetarian cuisine in three shaded courtyards. The business also offers art consultancy services for collectors and corporations and runs an online shop for art merchandise and prints.

Product overview

XVA Gallery & Hotel operates a multi-faceted arts and hospitality business in Dubai's Al Fahidi Historical Neighborhood. The core offerings include XVA Gallery (a leading contemporary art gallery specializing in Middle Eastern, Iranian, and Subcontinental art), XVA Art Hotel (a 15-room boutique hotel in heritage architecture), and XVA Café (an award-winning vegetarian restaurant). The portfolio also includes Art Consultancy services for collectors and XVA Shop for retail sales. Founded in 2003, the business was established by Mona Hauser in the former Seddiqi family residence and has organized the Bastakiya Art Fair from 2007-2010.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• XVA Shop: Online shop operated at xvashop.com

Quantifiable outcome

• Gallery established as one of the leading contemporary art spaces in the Middle East
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• UAE Ministry of Culture (Modern Heritage Grant Program)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Modern Heritage Grant Program partnership supporting Charlie Koolhaas' 'After the Image' exhibition at XVA Art Hotel. Initiative by UAE Ministry of Culture in collaboration with Zayed University and Majra – National CSR Fund.
• Zayed UniversityflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner in the Modern Heritage Grant Program supporting heritage preservation and contemporary art exhibitions.
• Majra – National CSR FundflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCSR initiative partner in the Modern Heritage Grant Program supporting cultural heritage projects.
• Charlie KoolhaascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtist presenting 'After the Image' exhibition at XVA Art Hotel, turning a hotel room into a lived-in archive of Dubai's architectural past. Supported by Modern Heritage Grant Program.
• Bastakiya Art FaircoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerXVA founded and organized the Bastakiya Art Fair from 2007-2010 as part of its commitment to raising the profile of contemporary art practice in Dubai.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• 21c Museum Hotels: US-based hotel chain that combines contemporary art museums with boutique hotels in a single venue — the closest conceptual analogue to XVA's gallery-plus-hotel model, and a benchmark for monetizing art-hospitality convergence.
• Custot Gallery Dubai: International gallery with Dubai presence focusing on modern and contemporary art — competing for the same UAE-based collectors and corporate art advisory clients.
• Leila Heller Gallery: Leading Dubai and New York gallery focused on contemporary Middle Eastern, Iranian, and South Asian art — a direct competitor for the same collector base and regional artist roster that XVA cultivates.
• Green Art Gallery: One of Dubai's longest-running contemporary art galleries, founded in 1995, representing regional and international artists — direct competition for XVA in the Dubai contemporary art market.
• Lawrie Shabibi Gallery: Dubai-based gallery specializing in contemporary Middle Eastern and international artists, with comparable focus on regional programming and collector base overlap with XVA.
• Carbon 12 Gallery: Dubai-based contemporary art gallery representing established and emerging artists from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia — competing directly with XVA for exhibition programming and collector attention.

Broad incumbents

• Hauser & Wirth Somerset House: International gallery that integrates gallery and hospitality/event programming within heritage buildings — a relevant structural parallel for the gallery-as-venue model XVA has pioneered at smaller scale.
• Opera Gallery: International gallery chain with a Dubai presence offering modern and contemporary works across a broader global roster — a larger incumbent competing for the same high-net-worth collector segment in Dubai.

Regional players

• Arabian Courtyard Hotel & Spa: Boutique heritage hotel in Dubai's old Bur Dubai district near Al Fahidi — directly competing for cultural-tourist bookings in the same neighborhood as XVA Art Hotel.
• Al Seef Heritage Hotel (by Accor): Heritage-themed hotel in Dubai's old Al Seef district on Dubai Creek, in close geographic proximity to XVA — competing for the same cultural-tourist demand in Dubai's heritage corridor.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/XVAGALLERY
• Facebookfacebook.com/xvagallery
• Instagraminstagram.com/xvagallery
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/xva-gallery-hotel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about XVA Gallery & Hotel