We hope you weren’t too attached to the Viceroy name on Palm Jumeirah, because after opening just months ago – in March of this year – the property is already being rebranded.
FIVE Holdings, the Dubai-based real-estate development and hospitality group previously known as SKAI Holdings, has announced the launch of FIVE Hotels & Resorts, a new luxury hospitality brand, under its subsidiary FIVE Hospitality LLC.
The brand will operate four hotels and residences in Dubai by 2020, with a philosophy that stems from the five elements and is inspired by its guests, its people, the journey, and the destinations.
First on its list is FIVE Palm Jumeirah Dubai, previously known as Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai, which is currently in its soft-opening phase with a formal brand launch event scheduled for October 2017. Managed by FIVE Hotels & Resorts, the AED4.3bn (US$1.17bn) property will be FIVE Holdings’ flagship hotel and residences.
“We are pleased to announce the launch of our new hospitality brand, which will operate four hotels and residences in Dubai by 2020. The total value of these projects will be AED7.2bn ($2bn),” said Kabir Mulchandani, Chairman and CEO, FIVE Holdings.
“We believe now is the right time to disrupt the hospitality industry. The people who actually provide a hospitality experience never receive the real benefits while most of the commercial benefits are taken, in most cases, by operators. This needs to change. There needs to be a much more equitable distribution and we will be introducing this in our hospitality vertical immediately to ensure our philosophy is executed from the heart,” said Aloki Batra, CEO of FIVE Hospitality LLC.
FIVE Hotels & Resorts is one to keep an eye on. Along with the recent unveiling of its new, five-elements-inspired corporate identity, the firm’s new name also reflects the group’s continued ambition to grow its current property portfolio of $2bn.
