The following words and phrases - wherever they appear in this Regulation - shall have the meanings specified next to each of them, unless the context of the text indicates otherwise:
Law: Tourism Law.
Regulation: Regulation of the Tourism Hospitality Facility.
Ministry: Ministry of Tourism.
Minister: Minister of Tourism.
Tourism Hospitality Facility: Any place that provides accommodation services to tourists for a fee, operating either permanently or temporarily. 
License: A document issued by the Ministry that enables its holder to operate a tourism hospitality facility.
Licensee: Any legal entity that has obtained a license from the Ministry in accordance with the Law and Regulation.
Classification: The mechanism for evaluating the tourism hospitality facility and the level of service provided therein, into specific types, categories, or grades.
Classification Criteria: The requirements that must be met in the tourism hospitality facility to determine its type, category, or grade.
Classification Certificate: A time-limited document issued by the Ministry in the name of the tourism hospitality facility, based on the classification criteria.
Tourist: A natural person who stays for tourism purposes for no less than one night outside their usual place of residence in a lawful manner for tourism, or benefits from one or more of the services of tourism and complementary and specialized activities.
Booking Document: The contract concluded by the licensee with the service requester to provide one or more of the services for which they are licensed. 
Procedural Guidelines: A document that includes instructions, guidelines, standards, or others to determine the detailed procedures complementing the Regulation in accordance with the provisions of the Law and its regulations.
National Tourism Monitoring Platform: An electronic platform for monitoring the performance of tourism hospitality facilities and tourism movement in the Kingdom, and collecting statistics and data related to it.
Official Address: The address registered in the license, or the national address, or the contact means of the activity practitioner - in all its forms - that the Ministry has obtained.​

The Regulation organizes the operation of the tourism hospitality facility, specifies the procedures for obtaining the necessary License to practice it, its controls and conditions, and defines the ongoing Obligations of the licensee and the general provisions.

It is not permissible to engage in the activity of a tourism hospitality facility without obtaining a license, or after its expiration, cancellation, or during the period of its suspension.​
 

When submitting a license application to the Ministry, the following must be provided:
1. A valid commercial registration including the activity of operating the tourist hospitality facility.
2. A valid license from the Ministry of Municipal and Housing Affairs or the competent authority - as applicable -.
3. A valid permit from the General Directorate of Civil Defense, or its equivalent.
4. Official data of the applicant and their representative in dealings with the Ministry regarding the activity - if any - and the facility data.
5. Integration with Shamous System.
6. Proof of the right to use the trademark (if any).
The applicant must fill out the license application form prepared by the Ministry.

The ministry - if the applicant for the license does not meet any of the requirements stated in Article (4) of the regulation, may coordinate with the relevant authorities to fulfill them, while notifying the applicant accordingly. 

After fulfilling the requirements specified in Article (4) of the Regulation, the applicant for the License must:
1. Establish a direct connection to the National Tourism Monitoring Platform.
2. Meet the classification standards for the lowest category in the star-rated hospitality facility of various types.
3. Meet the classification standards for the lowest degree in the graded hospitality facility of various types.
4. Meet the licensing standards for other unclassified types.

It is the responsibility of the Ministry, after the fulfillment of the requirements stated in Articles (4) and (6) of the Regulation by the license applicant, and the payment of the financial fee according to the attached financial fee schedule of this Regulation, to inspect the tourist hospitality facility to verify the availability of the requirements, the accuracy of the information and documents provided by the license applicant, and to prepare a visitation report.

It is the responsibility of the Ministry, after approving the visitation report - prepared based on Article (7) of the Regulation - which includes no observations on the tourist hospitality facility, and the payment of the financial fee according to the attached financial fee schedule of this Regulation; to issue the license.