Dubai Hotel Turns Party Culture and Virality Into Big Business

At the amphitheater-style pool in FIVE’s flagship property in Dubai, hundreds of guests sip cocktails under the blazing sun, unfazed by the desert heat. It’s less a hotel stay than a social spectacle. For the hospitality group’s chairman and founder, that buzz is part of the business model.

Indian entrepreneur Kabir Mulchandani has long been steeped in nightlife. Before founding the company in 2011, he was a regular at Ghetto, a Mumbai club where he partied with FIVE Hospitality’s Chief Executive Officer Aloki Batra and other longtime collaborators. What began as after-hours fun has evolved into a brand that blurs the line between hotel, nightclub and stage.