If the name Eli Saba rings a bell, it’s because he’s the man responsible for making award-winning WHITE Dubai what it is today. As the general manager of one of the most in-demand clubs at the moment, we couldn’t pass up a chance to find out what it’s like to be running the show behind the scenes each night at the hottest club in Dubai.
Congratulations on your recent win! What would you say are the key success factors in running a club such as WHITE?
The WHITE brand was established in 2006. It was an icebreaker of sorts in Beirut and provided us with a lot of experience. Before opening in Dubai, we used this knowledge and expertise and adapted to the UAE market, so we were pretty much already ahead of the game. We pride ourselves on taking customer service seriously, and listening to the feedback we are given each weekend.
WHITE Dubai is a unique venue. As the first high-tech outdoor rooftop venue in the UAE, we have the distinct advantage of being able to fascinate guests with incredible light shows, premiere sound systems and phenomenal live acts. The combination of these factors, along with a stellar team in place, makes WHITE Dubai what it is today.
You became general manager at a young age. How did you get the opportunity to manage one of the best nightclubs in Dubai?
I started working as a bartender for ‘AddMind’ in 2004 back when the company had only one outlet – ‘House of Salad’ in Beirut. Then, I moved to WHITE Beirut once it opened in 2006, where I was promoted to bar manager and gained experience in managing the entertainment team. I shifted to the UAE in 2013 where I was offered the position of general manager of WHITE Dubai. I am certain that having experience and understanding all of the aspects of operation have assisted career growth – in addition to focus, dedication and a huge passion for what I do. It is because of this that I have now also earned the responsibility of overseeing other clubs such as MAD on Yas Island and Toy Room Dubai, which are part of the growing ‘AddMind’ nightlife portfolio.
How did you end up in the nightlife scene?
As previously mentioned, I started working in nightlife at an early age. Throughout the past few years, I have spent a lot of time traveling and going to festivals all over the world, in order to get an in-depth idea of industry trends. We do our best to bring fresh new ideas to each of our venues in the Middle East.
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Tell us more about your upcoming projects.
We are planning a lot of changes for next season which will include the latest technologies in nightlife. We are also working on a number of new concepts in the UAE that cannot be revealed at this stage.
Where do you see WHITE in 10 years?
We have achieved a lot of milestones in 2016 – from winning the Best Club award for the third time in a row to finishing 49th on DJ Mag’s Top 100 Club annual polls. As the only venue in the Middle East to have been included in this list, we now have a responsibility to represent the UAE and lead the market trends in this region with innovative and creative ideas. We are looking at the potential of creating global events, taking inspiration from festivals around the world. In the next 10 years, we aim to revolutionize the nightlife scene in the UAE, and the rest of the world.
Any key people that you would like to thank for being involved in the success of WHITE?
Each and every person that has encouraged us on our journey has made our success possible. At ‘AddMind’, we are grateful to have a team of dedicated individuals in management, operations, entertainment and marketing who make everything possible. We would also like to thank all of our customers, clients and friends for their constant support.
**Edited for clarity**