Less than three and a half years from its grand tourism plan Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia has outlined proposed staffing requirements for all types of hotels and other accommodations.
The country’s Ministry of Tourism laid out the following guidelines for labor in a paper titled “Minimum staffing requirements for tourist hospitality facilities." Luxury hotels and resorts will need three employees per one room; five-star hotels will need four workers for every five rooms; heritage hotels will need three employees for every five rooms; four-star hotels will need three staff for every five rooms; three-star hotels will need two workers for every five rooms; two-star hotels will need one employee for every five rooms; and one-star hotels will need one worker for every 10 rooms.
Saudi Arabia's serviced apartments also have staffing requirements outlined in the new rules, which, if ratified, would be mandatory for the whole calendar year.
The Saudi government's proposals have been put out to public consultation, with a decision to be made by the end of this year and enacted on Jan. 1, 2027.
According to newspaper The Saudi Gazette, “the regulations require hospitality establishments to maintain the minimum number of employees continuously throughout the calendar year.”
Hotels that have obtained a license before the regulations were announced will have 180 days to comply with the requirements, while hotels moving to a higher segment will have only 90 days to do likewise. Saudi authorities will ensure compliance on and after the first day of next year, at which time penalties can be imposed, too.
Higher expectations
Hotel staffing requirements used to be a lot simpler everywhere, with limited food and beverage and no outsourcing, said Philip Wooller, area director for the Middle East and Africa at STR, CoStar Group's hospitality analytics division.
“Now, they are a lot more complex. Some hotels in the United Arab Emirates have multiple restaurants, some outsourced, some managed. The Atlantis has over 40 restaurants,” Wooller said of the 1,544-room hotel in Dubai. “With all those factors to consider, how do you draw a conclusion?”
For example, a hotel company that manages more than 30 hotels in the UAE might work on the basis of 0.5 employees per room and for the luxury hotels 1.5 to 1.7 persons per key, Wooller said.
“But again, its subjective. … Thinking back to my days [as a hotelier myself] those numbers are elevated from United Kingdom standards but not by too much, maybe 25% higher. I used to run a 442-room hotel, and I had over 200 staff. The Saudi table says I should have had 265 members of staff,” he said.
Saudi Arabia's hotel staffing standards are sensible ones that will further develop and reinforce quality of service, Wooller said. In the Middle East, hospitality service standards often are higher and costs generally are lower for salaries, although, he added, “the jury is slightly out on that one.”
The UAE does not have specific numbers of required staff per class of hotels.
Muin Serhan is CEO of owner, developer and management firm Amsa Hospitality, which has six hotels in Saudi Arabia, with another two soon to open. Serhan said his firm’s partnerships with Saudi schools such as King Khalid University are bringing international service standards to the kingdom.
In 2024, Amsa initiated the Amsa Academy to further prepare Saudi workers for hospitality roles. Serhan said the vocational training academy is open not only to future Amsa Hospitality employees but to any Saudi graduate, even those who go on to work for other hotel groups.
“Partnering with local universities is key to our mission at Amsa Academy because it gets graduates into real hotels early," he said. "Saudis already have hospitality in their DNA, that welcoming instinct is cultural. What’s needed now is training them to the level international travelers are accustomed to. That only comes from structured time on hotel floors across the kingdom, learning the standard, not just the theory.”
Miret Padovani, founder and CEO of Dubai-based business advisory Hotel Marketing Space, works extensively in Saudi Arabia and has had the opportunity to meet many young Saudis working in hospitality. She said Saudi Arabia has one of the youngest populations in the world, with approximately 60% of Saudis being under the age of 30.
“That’s a great supply of talent, but supply alone doesn’t solve a staffing gap. I believe it is the industry’s responsibility, together with the public sector, to prepare that talent for hospitality roles,” she said. “What stands out is their enthusiasm to learn, develop their skills and grow in their careers, as well as the pride they take in contributing to the future of hospitality in Saudi Arabia."
Budding tourism
On June 18, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Tourism released its latest tourism numbers. In 2025, the country saw 123 million inbound and domestic tourists, approximately a 6% year-over-year increase.
Tourism spend that year was approximately 304 billion Saudi riyals ($80 billion), a record 7% year-over-year increase, and the sector contributed 4.9% of the country’s gross domestic product.
The tourism ministry's report added that women now comprise 47% of Saudi Arabia's tourism workforce.
“Non-religious purposes accounted for approximately 52% of total inbound overnight visitors’ purpose of trip in 2025, representing more than half of all inbound overnight visitors, compared to 44% in 2019,” the report added.