Do you have any celebrities lined up for the coming months?
We have booked Bob Sinclar in October and we have Akon coming, Sean Paul, Yo Gotti, Silentó. There are plans for a Russian artist, Dima Bilan, in January on the Russian New Year’s Eve.
In terms of consumer spending, have you seen a change or decrease since the oil prices declined?
Definitely yes. For the first season, we used to have the big spenders spending. But now I can see that spenders are not spending crazy money like before. Maybe they would rather go for Europe where there are cheaper prices than come to Dubai for the hot season. I’ll be better able to answer you in October as summer is our low season. When tourists come back and start spending, I can answer you better.
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Cavalli is a well-known international name. Does that help you compete in what many believe is an oversaturated nightlife market in Dubai?
We don’t compete with anyone in Dubai honestly speaking. We focus on how we’re going to do better at Cavalli. So yes we check what is happening in the clubs around us, but we don’t feel that we need to compete with this club or that club. On the contrary, other people might be competing with us .
The competition before was easier because there were few clubs in Dubai. Nowadays there are so many clubs and so many options. But people are going to try new clubs for the first three months, four months, then they’re going to go back for the quality and the service. They’ll see the difference between clubs. Everyone can provide good music and everyone can provide artists, but the difference is the service.
Roberto Cavalli is the only fashion nightlife brand still alive I think. To sustain your business for 8 years is not easy. The fashion brand name has very much supported our business. It holds a lot of value for us.
What is a day in your life?
As a general manager I have a lot of responsibilities. I work at night but I have so many meetings in the morning where I meet my marketing, public relations, human resources, finance team and suppliers to plan ahead for events. After closing the club I finish my shift at around 5am or 6am. I go home and watch football or play Xbox with my son. Then I sleep at 8am and by 1pm I’m awake and checking my emails to start my day again.
What is the best part of your job?
Meeting high end people every night. These people, to meet them in the morning you need to have an appointment one week before and you need to wait one hour in the reception just to meet them, whereas in the club you have access to them. These include CEOs and company owners who you can’t see in the morning. They come to party here and do business. Meeting a lot of people every night makes for a huge network.
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