المملكة: Urgent – Separating men’s and women’s rooms and a shared kitchen…the most prominent requirements for tourist hostels
For tourism monitoring to ensure effective control and follow-up of visitor registration.
Accommodation Facilities Controls
The regulations revealed that a minimum area of 4 square meters is specified for each bed in shared rooms, with the number not exceeding 10 beds per room.
The Ministry specified the areas of private rooms to start from 8 square meters for singles and reach 17 square meters for quads.
The agency obligated operators to change mattresses every 10 years. As a maximum, this must be documented with official records that are subject to inspection. The requirements added the necessity of providing safe personal storage spaces for each inmate, and an electrical socket for every two beds, while categorically prohibiting the use of window-mounted air conditioning systems.
The Ministry stated that Reception offices for 16 hours a day, with check-in and check-out available around the clock via smart technologies. It stressed the provision of a free Internet network with a speed of no less than 1 megabit per user, and support for non-cash payment methods approved by the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia.
The standards indicated the obligation to provide a shared kitchen and dining space that accommodates 25% of the hostel’s total capacity. The regulations included preparing a common seating area containing sufficient seats and a minimum 40-inch television screen to provide an appropriate social environment.
Health facilities and specialized services
With regard to health facilities, the Ministry completely prohibited the use of traditional floor toilets in all tourist lodges. It required the provision of separate public bathrooms for men and women, equipped with automatic sensor faucets and electronic flushing systems to ensure the highest levels of cleanliness and public health.
The requirements drew attention to the importance of universal access, as they imposed the allocation of one room equipped for persons with disabilities for every 100 housing units.
These rooms include wide movement paths, visual alarms, and special equipment in the bathrooms that include emergency buttons and foldable safety handles.
She confirmed The agency is required to place external signs in Arabic and English that comply with the guidelines of the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing.
It also required the provision of a defibrillator and a first aid kit in facilities whose capacity exceeds 50 beds to enhance response to emergency cases.
The regulation excluded establishments located in Mecca and Medina from some space requirements with a permissible variance of up to 20% for a specific percentage of rooms. It also exempted lodges that obtained the agricultural specialty category from some planning standards to be compatible with their rural and environmental nature.
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