The Ministry of Tourism has begun implementing the new hospitality unit regulations that replaced the previous regulations. These include updated controls for operating units, converting existing permits into licenses, and enhancing tourists' rights and protecting their data.

The ministry has required current permit holders to adjust their status within 90 days, without additional fees or changes to the permit's validity period. The license duration is set to a maximum of one year, and it stipulates that the number of licenses for a single owner in a shared property should not exceed three, while meeting ownership or usufruct requirements and operational, safety, and security standards.

The regulations include controls for advertising and booking, the most notable of which are the use of images and data that accurately reflect reality, updating the unit's status to prevent double bookings, clarifying the capacity, and ensuring the unit is prepared and clean before the tourist's arrival. The duration of stay is set at 29 consecutive days, with a maximum of 90 days during the license's validity.

Two Hours.. and an Alternative or Refund

If the tourist's check-in is delayed beyond the scheduled time, the licensee is obligated to provide drinks at no additional charge. If the delay exceeds two hours, the tourist must be given the choice between a full refund without fees or providing an equivalent or superior alternative unit, along with transporting the tourist and their luggage at no extra cost.

These guarantees apply when the service cannot be provided due to a reduction in the facility's rating, its closure, evacuation, or interruption of essential services for more than two hours, allowing the tourist to choose between canceling the reservation and receiving a refund, or refunding the value of the remaining duration, or providing a suitable alternative unit.

Protection of Identity and Privacy

The regulations prohibit taking copies of tourists' identities or retaining their data in violation of privacy controls, emphasizing the confidentiality of their information and not using or sharing it without written consent. It also prohibits removing the tourist from the unit or opening it after their entry without their permission or the approval of security authorities.

Travel expert Ahmed Al-Zahrani confirms that the new regulations have strengthened tenants' rights and organized licensing conditions and operational obligations, noting that among the most important controls are the determination of the license and stay duration and the number of licenses, in addition to requiring units to use data and images that accurately reflect reality to prevent misleading or deceiving the tenant.