Diriyah Hosts Its Annual Bashayer Event In Riyadh, Revealing A Host Of New Hospitality And Cultural Projects
Jerry Inzerillo, Group Chief Executive Officer of Diriyah | Photo provided by Diriyah
The $63.2 billion-dollar giga project broke ground for seven new luxury hotels, and unveiled a vast smart city system where all traffic will be underground while above ground will pedestrian friendly
Bashayer- Delivering Our Future | Photo provided by Diriyah
Saudi Arabia is growing at astounding rates. It is building in double the time what would take other countries a few decades to complete. There are 5 giga projects backed by the world’s 5th largest sovereign wealth fund, known as the Public Investment Fund (PIF), going on simultaneously. Three years ago, the world would never have imagined that the 2034 Asian Games would be taking place in The Kingdom, or that the Asian Winter Games in Trojena would be occurring 2029, or that the next World Expo would be taking place in 2030- and mind you, Saudi Arabia is still waiting to hear on their bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
One such giga project taking place is Diriyah, the birthplace of the Al Saud family that dates back to 1727. Taking up 5 square miles, Diriyah is just a 15-minute drive from Riyadh’s city center, and it’s expected to help boost the impact of tourism on the Kingdom’s GDP to 10-percent by 2030. On November 20th Diriyah’s Group Chief Executive Officer Gerard Inzerillo and his team of executives welcomed people from around the world to see this project they are spearheading, which was called Bashayer- Delivering Our Future. “The country is doing in one year what most countries are doing in five years,” explains Inzerillo to Seele. “On top of that, this is a G20 country, Riyadh is the mother ship of that G20 country, and remember we are fortunate in the Kingdom because we’re the custodians of The Two Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina. For 2 billion plus Muslims this is the fulfillment of their life dream to do a pilgrimage at one point. People can come and do their pilgrimage and stay.”
Jerry
Jerry with the Governor of Riyadh | Photo provided by Diriyah
This is a massive project that Inzerillo is overseeing, massive. It’s a multi-billion-dollar project and it’s taking a decade to construct. What Saudi Arabia is doing, what Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is putting on his government ministers and men like Inzerillo is no small feat. What should take 40 years to complete is being done in 6, a stat that Maher Shirah, Director General of Smart Riyadh from the Royal Commission for Riyadh City shared with me at the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) Smart Cities conference in Riyadh earlier this year. So, how does a man like Jerry Inzerillo, who was born into a very poor family in Brooklyn, New York get to manage such a project? Well, he chalks it up to the goodness of God.
“It’s a minor miracle, or if you’re spiritual it’s a blessing. I come from a good family but a very poor family and I started working in hotels when I was a boy of 13 at night, and I loved to serve. I loved taking care of people. I love joy and I love festivity, and then I said to myself I’m going to go to school for this, and I studied hotel administration at the University Nevada Las Vegas. Out of my joy of serving I got good at what I did. It’s a reward from God. I knew if I served I’d be ok. We have a saying in our family: ‘Man gives awards, God gives rewards.’ So now after 50 years, maybe I know what I’m doing,” he jokes. “But when I saw Vision 2030, I said this is real vision and one of the anchors is tourism, and I love all the young Saudis, especially the women because I want them to be the best fulfillment of themselves. To be here and to work with all these dynamic people, it’s a big source of energy for me.”
Bashayer- Delivering Our Future
The new Marriott Bab Sanhman Hotel | Photo provided by Diriyah
The Bab Sanhman hotel underwent a soft opening during the event. A Marriott Luxury Collection hotel, it’s oh-so Saudi with distinct Najdi architecture. Inzerillo is very proud of this property, as well as Sandeep Walia, COO of Marriott International for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Ground was broken for seven new luxury hotels that will join a list of 42 hotels, with a total of 6,500 rooms across Diriyah and its neighboring Wadi Safar. Also revealed is an underground road system, where a construction and engineering team have dug through 10 billion cubic meters of rock to construct such a smart city feat. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is all about having the best quality of life for his Kingdom and that includes advanced smart city technology and a healthy population. Once these giga and mega projects are completed, he wants his people outside 3-5 times a week walking and exercising.
Jerry and 7 hotel representatives from Raffles, Rosewood, Orient Express, Baccarrat, Corinthia, Fauchon, and Armani | Photo provided by Diriyah
These seven hotels totaling 877 rooms will include the highest levels of luxury with distinct Saudi hospitality and Najdi architectural flair. Baccarat will have 9 residences and 86 guest rooms and suites; this will be Corinthia’s first property opening in Saudi Arabia and it will include 10 residences, and 86 guest rooms and suites; Fauchon, the French gourmet food and delicatessen company will have 74 guestrooms and suites along with Parisian gastronomy infused in their hotel; Armani will include 15 residences and 70 guest rooms and suites. Designed by Giorgio Armani himself, there will be an Armani Café. Unable to attend the groundbreaking Armani sent a delegate who read a letter from the renowned fashion designer where he wrote, “this hotel is important due to its geographic and cultural scope.” Oriental Express’s hotel will have 86 guest rooms and suites, filled with Art Deco style that will explore a journey through time and space; Raffles will have 202 rooms and suites, 90 residences- of which 50% has been sold; and Rosewood will have 262 rooms and suites, offering views of the wadi, and 4 restaurants.
How the Armani Riyadh hotel will look | Photo provided by Diriyah
Also announced at Bashayer- Delivering Our Future is the development of the Qurain Cultural District and Northern District, part of the $63.2 billion project’s budget. Both are being constructed to be places where culture meets modern urban living where the King Salman Foundation, museums, a university, a library, and a vibrant public square will be housed. There will also be retail, office, local dining, a cinema, and residentials space included.
To handle all this growth will take a robust human element of competent hospitality staff. Diriyah alone will create 178,000 jobs, and ensuring they are properly trained is the key to success but Inzerillo isn’t worried. “His Royal Highness believes very deeply in the development of Saudi youth, but he believes in it right from kindergarten. So, what we’re doing in Diriyah- 14% of our staff are from Diriyah by the way- requires the right education. If we see that young people want to serve and come into the sector of tourism, we will sponsor that. We’re already teaching language and hotel administration, thanks to the leadership of the Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb. We’re building the largest school of hotel administration in Qiddiya. The Crown Prince has given us more funds for training than I’ve ever had in my career for training people, because he knows the nation is young, ambitious, positive, and optimistic, and he wants them to have all the tools to be in leadership. He’s amazing that way and we’re putting thousands of people through our training programs.
It’s certainly exciting to see Diriyah’s progression. Just a year ago things looked different than they do compared to today. As developments reach their completion, Diriyah is anticipated to welcome 50 million visits a year.