Adding a Jeddah stay to an Umrah group’s programme: what changes?

Some agents and groups ask for nights in Jeddah before departure or on arrival. The request looks simple, but it adds a full stage to the operation. This guide is for Umrah company sales and operations teams, and reviews what to check before agreeing, and where the work changes. It does not suggest packages to pilgrims, who book listed packages on Nusuk.

Check the rules first

The announcements we reviewed on documenting housing contracts describe hospitality facilities licensed by the Ministry of Tourism, through Nusuk Masar, as the housing contracts guide explains. We did not find text detailing how a stay outside Makkah and Madinah affects the platform’s requirements. So ask the ministry or check on Nusuk Masar before promising an agent anything, and ask too about visa holders’ movement between cities in your season.

For this part, do not rely on a previous season’s experience or a supplier’s word. This is a general guide, not legal advice.

What changes in each team?

A quick review before agreeing to the request:

Steps to add the stage

Once the rules are checked, follow this order:

1. Decide where Jeddah sits in the trip: on arrival, or before departure.
2. Contract the hotel, record its licence and dates, and create an allotment for the nights needed.
3. Work out the full cost: nights, each extra transfer, the supervisor and any other service.
4. Issue a new quote to the agent, and get their approval in writing.
5. Update the group’s programme, replan transport and times, and tie them to the departing flight.
6. Prepare the rooming list for the Jeddah hotel, and make it part of the group’s file.

When to say no

Not every request is worth accepting. Think again in these cases:

• You are not clear what the season requires for this stay.
• The group is small, so the nights do not cover the coach and supervisor.
• The trip falls in Ramadan’s peak, and teams are already stretched.
• The departure time leaves no safe margin between hotel and airport.

Where to place Jeddah in the trip

Each position has its merits and operational effect. Compare before quoting:

How to work out the cost

The common mistake is pricing the night alone. Work out the whole stage’s cost: rooms per night and type, the transfer to Jeddah and on to the airport, any waiting cost, the supervisor, and meals if included. Divide by the actual number of pilgrims rather than the expected one, because a smaller group carries a bigger share of the coach and supervisor.

Then decide how to present it to the agent: a clear addition on the quote with its dates and inclusions, and a minimum number if needed. Do not add it verbally after the sale, because it will show up in invoices, statements and expectations on delivery.

Questions to ask the agent

Before agreeing, ask for a written answer to these questions:

• Why is the Jeddah stay requested, and is it for the whole group or part of it?
• What is the arrival or departure flight time, and from which terminal?
• Have pilgrims been told what these nights include and exclude?
• Who bears the difference if the flight time changes?

How Umrah Link supports a stay in Jeddah

Stay cities in the system are no longer limited to Makkah and Madinah. A hotel in Jeddah and other cities can be added, with its contract, block and booking built on it, as in Housing, transport & field. Facts such as distance to the Haram stay specific to Makkah and Madinah hotels.

• The system checks that the hotel’s contract and licence are valid for every day of the stay, where the licence is required and recorded on the supplier.
• The movement board proposes moves between stay cities, and ties the departure transfer to its flight.
• Prices appear in Sales & packages, and the nights used become supplier bills.

Explore packages and quotes

Common questions