Podcast
Podcast
Episode 10: Bringing Saudi Arabia’s Welcoming Culture to the World through Adeera Hospitality, a PIF Company
Starting from the ground floor, Adeera Hospitality, a new hotel management operator wholly owned by PIF, hopes to lead the way in innovation in the hospitality industry, while honoring its rich cultural heritage.
Joining me during HITEC 2025, Shrikant Shenoy, Chief Information & Strategy Officer for Adeera Hospitality, discusses the origins of the company, how they are utilizing AI technology to create hyper-personalized experiences for guests as well as attract new talent and what it’s like to visit Riyadh, the capital city of Saudi Arabia.
Adeera was created by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, the main sovereign wealth fund that is driving economic transformation in the kingdom, as the national champion hotel operator. Their role is to set up and run hotel brands that bring Saudi hospitality to the world. Shrikant is excited at the prospect of creating something without any legacy technology, and with his background in strategy and tech, he looks forward to leading the charge.
The roots of Saudi hospitality can be traced back to the nomadic beginnings of a society that resided in harsh desert conditions. There were settlements and camps that welcomed travelers, setting them up to be open to receiving guests with food and shelter to help survive the environmental elements. This idea has been infused into the outlook of modern Saudi culture – when someone comes to your door, you take them in and look after them.
Adeera and PIF used those cultural roots to influence Vision 2030, a strategy to transform the economy and society of the kingdom. At a high level, the main goals are to encourage multi-sector development, so that the economy is less dependent on oil revenue as the primary source of income. From a social transformation perspective, the goal is to harness the untapped potential of the young population, including the female sector that, historically, hasn’t been engaged in the workforce. Tourism is a main pillar of focus here, with a goal of broadening the country’s international appeal, as well as creating attractions and destinations for Saudi residents.
Spanning 2.2 million square kilometers (roughly a quarter of the size of the United States), Saudi Arabia has a diverse geographic makeup, from mountainous region in the southwest, where summertime temperature won’t go above 25 degrees Celsius (77℉), to the Red Sea which boasts stunning coastlines with incredible diving. Vision 2030 had a goal of reaching 100 million tourists, including domestic and religious tourism; however, that goal turned out to not be ambitious enough, with tourism numbers crossing 100 million last year. So, they’ve reset the number for 2030 to be 150 million.
Rather than only bringing in outside hotel management companies, Adeera was created to manage properties on behalf of owners, alongside PIF assets. Their mandate and purpose is very clear – to bring Saudi hospitality to the world, delivering on both the guest experiences side and making it a beacon industry to attract young Saudis to work in. Leveraging AI innovation is part of that strategy. Adeera plans to use it to tailor the service touchpoints for the guest to make it more personal and more contextual. For back-of-house, they plan to heavily automate, including providing a simple interface for new employees to utilize so that they can be ramped up in less than a day.
“AI technology shouldn’t be used just for technology’s sake, but rather used to solve a problem.”
Saudi Arabia, as a leisure destination, is starting from scratch – a clean sheet of paper to build upon. And Adeera sees this as a unique opportunity to engage in early conversations about data sharing to benefit a cohesive customer experience. Earlier this year, PIF, as a direct initiative from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched HUMAIN as a global AI powerhouse, providing a comprehensive range of AI services, products and tools including next-generation data centers, as well as one of the world’ most powerful multimodal Arabic large language models (LLMs).
After relocating to Riyadh for his role at Adeera, Shrikant was pleasantly surprised by the destination and offered a few insights for what visitors can expect. One unexpected takeaway? There are true seasons throughout the year, with humidity-free summers, rainy springs and chilly winters. He consistently delights in friendly interactions with the local people, including at his favorite coffee shop near work. One big adjustment was to the rhythm of the day, as Riyadh is a late night city, likely as a response to the heat of the day.
We finished with LTI’s signature rapid fire questions. For personal travel, Shrikant and his family are headed to Kenya for a four-day safari during migration season. When reflecting on travel in the past, Shrikant reflected on how it’s evolved for the better, being more accessible, informative and personalized. Forward-looking, Shrikant hopes technology delivers a more cohesive booking experience and transaction flow.
Thank you, Shrikant, for joining me on this episode of Luxury Travel Innovators, available to listen to and watch on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Youtube.
