An exclusive interview with Six Senses group CEO Neil Jacobs on the eve of the opening of Six Senses Southern Dunes.
The vision of Neil Jacobs, CEO of Six Senses Group, extends beyond a super high-end hotel and spa company. He believes in creating demand through constant innovation, initiatives and programming that are meaningful and tailored for each guest’s health and well-being. Together with his team, Jacobs drives the agenda of wellness, sustainability and out-of-the-ordinary experiences – always with a purpose of allowing guests to reconnect with themselves, others and the world around them.
It thus comes as no surprise that Six Senses resorts will be highly prominent among the swathe of new properties set to open in coming months and years in KSA.
We are arriving at the dawn of the opening of the group’s first property in the Kingdom – Six Senses Southern Dunes – which will be the very first resort to open its gates as part of the Red Sea project.
In this exclusive one-on-one with the visionary CEO, we suggested that the new opening must give him an exceptional sense of pride…
Well, a lot of pride and a lot of pressure, that’s for sure, being the first hotel to open. We’re super excited about what’s happening in the kingdom generally and with Red Sea being the first to open. I think the world is waiting to see what actually happens there. What I love about our project is that even though we’re in the Red Sea development, we’re actually not on the water, and think that’s going to be a huge point of differentiation for us in as much as that we have a really beautiful, interesting desert camp. Camp, not really, because it’s tented, but it is out in the desert. The design, the architecture really reflects where it is – the context of where it is. It’s quite contemporary. It’s built in a way that you certainly know where you are, but it’s not exactly what you would expect from a desert product. I think that’s probably the case with much of what is going on at the Red Sea in as much as that the intention of the owners and developers is very modern. I mean, you look at what Foster is doing with the airport there — it’s going to be an extraordinary piece of architecture that again reflects where you are, but with a new vocabulary.
So, we’re very excited about it. We’re hopeful that we will be open before the end of the year. That’s certainly the goal. And as we speak, many of the team members have been hired. All the management and all of the department heads are in place and working. I was there 90 days ago or so and was really impressed with what I saw, but with what I saw generally. And not having been in Saudi prior to Covid, just to see the attitude and experience the attitude of the young Saudis and how proud they are of what’s going on in the country and enthusiastic about all the development that’s happening there. It was really, really refreshing. And definitely you saw a difference on the ground to maybe what was happening a few years ago, and that was super encouraging. So that’s a few answers to one question.
Yes, I noticed that as well with the young Saudis… the welcome and the attitude is really amazing compared also to other countries in the region. I think there’s a buzz there, not only because of what’s happening in tourism, but in general. And I think that really you feel that when you’re there. Now, who are the partners in this project? I know you’ve got Foster as the designers, but who the main partners?
Obviously, all the Red Sea people. We have an interior designer out of London, whose name is Inge. I’ve known her for years; London based interior designers who have really been amazing at interpreting the Saudi texture, but in a very different, more contemporary way. Plus, with Six Senses, because of our position based around sustainability, the materials that are used, the provenance of materials, are sustainable and non-toxic when it comes to fabrics and paint and all of that. We have a pretty robust set of design standards around types of materials that are permissible in any one of our properties. Not every interior design group is as sensitive to that.
The external design is very original, which is I guess normal for Six Senses because it always is. But I think it is striking and it’s amazing how it fits into the into the landscape, into the countryside.
Yes, that’s very important to us. You know, we don’t want it to be ever come across as pastiche, or at all Disney-like. It’s quite easy to fall into that vernacular when you go to places like this. And so it was important that it be striking, it reflect place and context but is executed in a different way to perhaps what is expected. So, they’ve managed to achieve that without giving too much away. We want all the listeners (readers) to go take a look, right?
You were talking about sustainability and the internal aspects, and I know this is this is something which is very dear to your heart. We’ve spoken about it before. What other elements make this a really sustainable project? Of course, it’s key to the Red Sea project as well that everything has to be sustainable…
Alternative sources of energy, such as solar… When we look at sustainability, and we’ve had this conversation before, we look at it from the built environment, the operating environment, and then the outreach to community and how we are engaged in in local communities. I’ve already talked about materials, from a from an operating perspective; things that we’ve been doing for nearly 30 years. As you know, Six Senses is virtually 30 years old. But in terms of no plastic bottles, making our own water, not flying in Perrier and San Pellegrino; worrying about carbon footprint in terms of what we offer there… half a percent of our revenue is contractually allocated to sustainable activities outside of the hotel. So often they are community project related. And that’s just something that we do in every in every single jurisdiction where we function. Every hotel has a director of sustainability, which you don’t usually find in most hotels. And this person covers every single department. They are the “sustainability police”, if you like, for the whole development for us. They sit on the executive committee of the hotel and have a really important role, because they’re alongside the F&B director or the rooms director and the GM and so on. So that keeps us going. We also have something called an Earth Lab, which showcases a lot of the activities for our guests. For years in the beginning of the company, we did all of this, but for some reason or other, we never talked about it. We just did it. It almost felt back then as though it’s like, well, you’d be bragging if you did that. So, we just did it and we were very low key about it. But that has changed. I was part of phase two with the last buyers of the company and said, “No, guys, we need to talk about it. We need to show people what we’re doing and set an example. It’s not about bragging at all.” With our Earth lab, we’re able to showcase much of the sustainable activities that take place on a day-to-day basis. I think the guests find it really interesting as well as to see exactly what we are doing, how we recycle, how we repurpose materials, whether it’s timbers or what we do with waste, how we’re tracking energy consumption and what we’re doing there and so on. That’s all the role of this director of sustainability that exists in every hotel.
Now, you are still in the final construction phase. It’s a resort in the middle of the desert, basically in the middle of nowhere in northern Saudi Arabia. What have been the main issues, the main sorts of challenges in getting this together? It must have been extremely difficult.
Well, it is extremely difficult and I think that question is better focused on the developers, because they’re the ones that have been have been building it. We haven’t been building it, we’ve been there, we’ve been advising, we’ve been helping, we’ve been programming, but it hasn’t been our responsibility to build it. So, from a development perspective, John Pagano, who runs the Red Sea Company, and has an amazing construction background, he’s your man. And just the logistics, as you’re pointing out, and being out there in the desert and getting materials there and manpower and looking after the manpower and housing of all the construction workers and so on and so forth, has been a monumental task. In the first phase, there will be 3 or 4 hotels. And over time, you’ll have 20 or so hotels, if not more by the time it’s all rolled out. And credit to the developers in terms of what they’re doing for housing of all the employees. They’ve created a city, because with all those hotels plus residential plus retail plus an airport and so on, you need thousands of people. And that community is well under construction and will be ready relatively soon. That’s where all the employers are going to live. And it’s going to be as close to real life as it possibly can be because the employee housing will have everything that you can possibly need. It’s a fantastic piece of the development.
Of course, the other project you have there is the Amaala Project, which is underway. What stage is that at now and how is it coming along?
Well, actually that was the first project we signed in Saudi. It was moving well then it slowed down a bit as Covid happened and then it was given to John Pagano and the Red Sea group to take over, which was a good decision because so much was being duplicated that it didn’t really make sense, as you have two of these giga projects that now sit with the Red Sea Company. This one for us is indeed on the ocean. What we like about Amaala is the topography is super interesting. There’s a huge mesa plateau, so, you know, it’s up and down. We’re on the water in a place called Triple Bay, which is an extraordinary cove. What I love is the counterpoint between what we’re doing at the Red Sea and what we’re doing at Amaala. They’re both completely different – a completely different design, completely different location for us within their site, so there will be many options there. And I suspect we will find people staying in both, because the experience will be will be quite different.
And of course, this is all centred upon wellness, as are all Six Senses properties. I guess the wellness aspect of both the properties is going to be singular. It’s going to be very different to what we might find elsewhere…
There will be some crossover between the two, because there are certain things you need to have and there’s certain consensus on touchpoints. But certainly, Amaala has probably more of a wellness focus than the Red Sea property. Some of the brands that are going into a Amaala are well-known wellness brands. But we will do what we do… longevity, integrated wellness programmes with our lab biomarker testing… we’ll do our sleep programmes… we’ll do our nutrition programmes: eat with Six Senses, sleep with Six Senses. We’ll have our kids’ programmes, which is very wellness driven at school: grow with six senses. So those touchpoints will exist. Yet not every Six Senses is the same, because again, we embrace the healing arts of the countries or locations where we find ourselves. And you know, there’s some good history and healing that goes on in the Middle East. And we will highlight a lot of that in in all of our projects that we have going in the Kingdom.
Now Saudi Arabia is forging ahead in terms of tourism development, and there are announcements every day of new properties in the pipeline for the future. You’ve got two properties now. Are other properties under discussion at the moment?
Yes, we have signed a property at Diriyah Gate, close to Riyadh. Again, a completely different experience, spread over a very large landscape. And we have a fourth project that hasn’t been announced yet. So, for the moment, that’s what we have in the bag. Can we do more? We probably could do more. I would like to be in Jeddah. We don’t have anything that we’re looking at as yet but think that’s a place would I would like to be and that’s probably enough, if we end up with four or five projects.
Working with the Red Sea project, John Pagano and the Saudi authorities in general who are very forward thinking… how has it been working with the Saudi authorities and in Saudi Arabia in general?
Good. Very positive. They’re very, very dedicated. They are on a mission to create a tourism industry. It’s unprecedented anywhere in the world, in my view, as to what is being done in the country. They’re determined that this will become a world class destination in the Middle East, and there is nobody else who could do it. It’s in a country that has such a strong culture and history in the Arab world, that will be showcased with an absolute commitment, as we just said, to wellness and sustainability, both of which are hugely important. Wellness – particularly so in the Middle East where there’s quite a lot of un-wellness going on, if you look at heart disease, diabetes and so on. So, I mean, the focus on this and lifestyle in general is pretty important for the country. And the government and the powers that be in the Kingdom recognise that. And hence this push to have this agenda. And everyone is taking it hugely seriously.
Finally, how are you working with trade partners, for example, with travel advisors and so on, on these projects? How are you promoting the projects, and what has the feedback been like so far from them?
Well, obviously, we love the trade. We function at the high-end of the business and so work a lot with the high-end consortiums – the Virtuosos of the world, and the high-end travel agents globally and wholesalers as well. So, the trade is extremely important to who we are. I think the world is waiting to see. You know, there’s been so much conversation around what is being built and it is very high profile. I think that probably what’s going to happen is that the first year or so you’re going to get a huge amount of domestic business; not just Saudi, but regional… Certainly Saudi to start with, regional business that will come-in right from the beginning. And I think the real international aspect to this may take a little bit longer. I think people want to see. There will be some countries from which people will come immediately. But I think, if we look at a sequence, it’ll be domestic, regional and then global coming. We don’t believe it’s going to take that long.
It’s word of mouth as well, isn’t it? Because one thing I’ve noticed is that everybody who goes to Saudi Arabia comes back talking about the welcome that you receive, the warmness of the people. I know a lot of countries say that, but in Saudi Arabia, I think it is really very true.
Yes, I think so too. And all of that is actually very heart-warming. Going back to what I said at the beginning of our chat, I was blown away by that sense of hospitality that seemed to be very natural, authentic and real, among the folk that we met working in our properties and in other properties that I stayed at. They are just so excited about what’s happening in the country, and that comes across as very genuine and unpackaged, so to speak. And let’s hope that we can all manage to keep that, to encourage that feeling and that it doesn’t change, because that’s true hospitality.
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Read also: SIX SENSES SOUTHERN DUNES OPENS THE ROUTE TO THE RED SEA
