Viceroy goes to Dubai’s DIFC court over Palm Jumeirah hotel

Global hotel operator Viceroy has approached Dubai’s DIFC Courts after its Palm Jumeirah hotel was rebranded by its owner last week.

DIFC Courts has issued a court order prohibiting Five Holdings – the owner of the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai hotel- from taking any further actions to prevent Viceroy from exercising its exclusive authority to manage and operate the hotel, Viceroy said in a statement.

On Monday, June 19, Five Holdings – previously called SKAI Holdings, announced the purported takeover of the hotel by Five Hotels and Resorts – an affiliated company – and said the hotel’s name was also rebranded into Five Palm Jumeirah Dubai.

Read more: Viceroy Palm renamed Five Palm Jumeirah Dubai

Viceroy claims that the existing hotel management agreement has been “breached”.

The company signed a long-term hotel management agreement to operate the Palm Jumeirah hotel in 2013. The resort officially opened on March 31, 2017.

Viceroy said it is currently taking steps to ensure that the hotel’s owner complies fully with the terms of the court order and the hotel management agreement.

Bill Walshe, CEO of Viceroy Hotel Group, said: “Contrary to the hotel owner’s statements and subsequent media reports, Viceroy has always been, and remains, the legal operator of the Viceroy Palm Jumeirah Dubai.

“The court’s order requires, among other things, Viceroy’s name, signage and branding to be reinstated at the hotel. Our priority remains to work with our outstanding hotel colleagues to ensure continuity of service.

“We will continue to work strenuously with our legal team to ensure we achieve this.”

He added: “We are committed to supporting Dubai’s vision to be a leading tourism market and will strongly resist any attempts to threaten this.”

Dubai developer SKAI rebranded to Five Holdings earlier this month, to “reflect the company’s ambition to grow its current property portfolio of $2bn”.

Also read: Dubai developer SKAI rebrands, launches Dhs2.1bn hospitality focused REIT

Kabir Mulchandani, chairman and CEO, Five Holdings, said it plans to operate four hotels and residences in Dubai by 2020 (the Palm property, Jumeirah Village Circle, and two to be announced).