  The Quintuplet cluster is one of the most massive star clusters in the Milky
Way, situated very close to the Galactic center. We present a new search for
variable stars in the vicinity of the cluster, using the five-year database of
the Vista Variables in the Via Lactea (VVV) ESO Public Survey in the
near-infrared. A total of 7586 objects were identified in the zone around $2'$
from the cluster center, using 55 $K_S$-band epochs. Thirty-three stars show
$K_S$-band variability, 24 of them being previously undiscovered. Most of the
variable stars found are slow/semiregular variables, long-period variables of
the Mira type, and OH/IR stars. In addition, a good number of our candidates
show variations in a rather short timescale. We also propose four Young Stellar
Object (YSO) candidates, which could be cluster members.
