Standard five-star hotels must maintain a staffing ratio of four workers for every five rooms. Credit: Lee Charlie / Shutterstock.com.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Tourism is advancing on plans to impose minimum staffing levels on tourist hospitality establishments, Saudi Gazette reported.

The proposal sits under the scheme titled “minimum staffing requirements for tourist hospitality facilities”, which was opened to public consultation recently.

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According to the ministry, the measure is intended to secure sufficient workforce capacity, improve service quality and support operational efficiency, in line with the rapid expansion of the tourism sector in the kingdom.

Under the draft rules, luxury five-star hotels, hotel villas, hotel apartments and resorts can have up to three employees for every room.

For standard five-star hotels, the minimum requirement is set at four employees for every five rooms.

Four-star hotels would need three employees for every five rooms, while three-star properties need to have two employees for every five rooms.

The regulation also stipulates one employee for every five rooms in two-star properties.

One-star and unclassified establishments would be required to have at least one employee for every ten rooms.

The draft also sets one employee for every ten rooms in hostels. Heritage hotels would need three employees for every five rooms.

Hospitality businesses would have to maintain these minimum staffing levels throughout the entire calendar year.

Existing licenced establishments would be given a grace period of up to 180 days to meet the new requirements once they come into force.

Properties moving to a higher classification would have a maximum of 90 days to reach the staffing levels required for their new category.

To verify compliance, the Saudi Ministry of Tourism will rely on data from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development.

According to the plan, monitoring and penalties for non-compliance will begin on 1 January 2027, with violations handled under the Tourism Law and its executive regulations.