Selection of Private Hajj Operators: Considerations

Selection of Private Hajj Operators: Considerations
by Aatif Malik
Email: Aatif.malikk@gmail.com

Hajj is a religious obligation, and many pilgrims invest their lifelong savings into it, with some saving money for decades for this journey. However, Hajj is becoming increasingly expensive. There are state Hajj packages and private Hajj operators. This document focuses on the latter.

Numerous private Hajj companies offer a variety of Hajj packages at different prices to prospective pilgrims. This goes beyond mere business; any shortcomings in service are often attributed to Allah as a test or blamed on the Saudi Government. These operators receive payment in advance, leaving little remedy for poor service. There is a lack of quality control and consumer protection, and no framework exists to help prospective pilgrims compare the services of different Hajj operators. Currently, the only option is to seek feedback from previous pilgrims who have used these operators, but this can be unreliable due to the lack of specific evaluation criteria.

This document attempts to formulate criteria for comparison of Hajj operators. But there are few aspects that require discussion before moving to criteria i.e. Maktab category and residence during Hajj.

Maktab A or Maktab B; What should be the Choice:

Maktab A is more expensive than Maktab B, but the services provided by certain Hajj operators may not differ significantly. However, some Hajj operators offer services with noticeable differences, so pilgrims should exercise due diligence when making their choice of Maktab A or Maktab B.
During author’s Hajj in 2024, the Hajis of Maktab A were not particularly happy with services of the particular Hajj operator.

Residence at Aziziah or Haram-E-Kaaba during Hajj:

Pilgrims require to perform Tawaf-E-Ziarat and later Tawaf-E-Wida, raising the question of whether staying in Aziziah (a common choice for Pakistani pilgrims) or near the Haram is better during Hajj. While able-bodied pilgrims can typically walk from Mina to Aziziah to rest during the day and return to Mina at night, the Saudi government usually provides bus services from Haram-E-Kaba to Mina during Hajj. This makes the decision dependent on cost and convenience. If bus services are unavailable, transportation can become very expensive, with taxi drivers charging exorbitant rates (up to 800 Riyals for a journey that normally costs 40 Riyals before Hajj). The author lacks personal experience staying near the Haram during Hajj and thus cannot comment on it, but encourages those with such experience to share their insights in the comments to assist others.

Background to criteria for evaluation of Hajj operators

This document aims to provide a numerical based criteria to evaluate the services of different Hajj operators by inquiring from earlier Hajjis that can assist in making the selection decision. But before presenting the criteria, the author gives the background for the selection of the specific criteria.

The author went for Hajj in 2024 with a private Hajj operator from Pakistan, who claimed to have 30 years of experience supporting Hajj pilgrims. The issues faced by the author are summarized under three categories: prior to Hajj, during Hajj, and post-Hajj experiences. High temperatures ( around 50 centigrade) particularly exacerbated the problems.

Before Hajj Experience

• The author arrived in Makkah around 10 PM, having arranged own transportation to a booked hotel in the clock tower. Upon arrival, chaos ensued as the booked rooms were not available for the pilgrims of that particular Hajj operator. Many pilgrims who landed in Saudia were in Ehram, aiming to go for Umrah, but were struck. Hajj operator blamed hotel management for the problem, though the rooms keys were not with hotel management rather with Hajj operator. No food was provided to the pilgrims despite it being prepaid, and they were instructed to buy their own food from the food court in the clock tower. It took several hours to resolve the issue.

• After a few days, before the start of Hajj, the pilgrims moved to the Aziziah building. The transfer of luggage from the hotels to the Aziziah accommodations was handled smoothly by the Hajj operator, although there was improvement possibility in the distribution of luggage to specific buildings and rooms.

• The food quality in the Aziziah building was satisfactory, but dinner was served very late on the last two days before Hajj, with the delay attributed to road closures by the Saudi Government. As a result, some pilgrims opted to eat at hotels in Aziziah, while others skipped dinner. Despite their claimed experience, the Hajj operator was unable to foresee the issue.

• The Hajj operator collaborated with other operators, which had both advantages and disadvantages. However, they failed to clearly communicate this to the pilgrims, leading to confusion due to the different names and brands. Additionally, the local hired staff was not properly introduced.

• The Hajj operator announced a trip to Mina camp to familiarize the pilgrims with the route, but the guide was late. As another group was departing, many pilgrims mistakenly followed them, only realizing after walking about 2 kilometers that they were with the wrong group. This caused considerable confusion in the high temperatures (around 48°C). Additionally, the lack of a flag with the guid made it difficult for the pilgrims to locate their group leader amidst the large crowds.

• Few Maulanas delivered lectures at Aziziah buildings. Some expressed narrow viewpoints and imposed unnecessary strictness, which will be addressed in a separate article.

• The packages of items (Ehram, rucksack, mat, etc.) promised by the Hajj operator were delayed and only provided after many reminders. Upon delivery, some items were found to be missing. The Hajj operator stated their inability to provide the missing item.

During Hajj Experience

·       As Hajj operator was collaborating with other group operators, the things at the start of Hajj in Mina took time to settle down. The primary issue was ineffective communication. Pilgrims were informed that food could be obtained from adjacent stalls, but one stall was restricted to a specific group by another Hajj operator, causing confusion with no one available to clarify the situation.

·  The extreme temperatures caused hardship for pilgrims in Mina tents, where each tent had only one air conditioner serving 35 pilgrims. Additionally, the sofa cum beds provided added to the heat, prompting many tent occupants to place them aside or outside.

·  The journey by bus from Mina to Arafat was marred by miscommunication. Pilgrims were instructed to gather at 3 am, but some waited for as long as 3 hours until 6 am before being able to board the bus. This delay was particularly challenging for the elderly.

·  Arafat arrangements were better as the tent though housing around 200 pilgrims had effective air-conditioning. There were no shower arrangements at Arafat, though at Mina one can take shower albeit in toilet.

·  The buses from Arafat to Muzdalfah were better managed. It was first time that there were flag bearing guides who took the groups to respective buses.

·  In the morning, better guidance was provided as the pilgrims followed guides bearing flags on their walk to Mina from Muzdalfah.

·  Not all were informed about the availability of buses for travel from Muzdalfah to Aziziah, from where they could walk to Mina or Jamarat for the stoning ritual.

After Hajj Experience

• Following Hajj, the journey to Madina was hampered by poor communication from the Hajj operator. Pilgrims were instructed to be ready by 11 am, but the buses did not arrive until around 3 pm, causing pilgrims to arrive in Madina around midnight. Hajj operator had arrangement with hotel to provide food to late arriving pilgrims.
•  Pilgrims were asked to vacate the Madina hotel room by noon or maximum 4 pm, while some had late night flights. Author paid the tour operator for 17 days package, and Makkah hotel room was given on 8 June and asked to leave Madina hotel room on evening of 23 June, so it becomes 16 days package.
  
• Pilgrims were instructed to check out of their Madina hotel rooms by noon and later timings by 4 pm, despite some having late-night flights. The author paid for a 17-day package, receiving the Makkah hotel room on June 8th and being required to vacate the Madina hotel room by the evening of June 23rd, effectively making it a 16-day package, and not getting food for three meals (though paid).
• The biggest issue was lack of effective communication. While the management personnel were polite, they were not particularly helpful.

Author suggests following:

1.    Compare the package prices among different operators but remember that price, though being a very strong criteria, should not be the sole criterion for selection.

2.    Obtain the registration number of the company, both in Pakistan and their partner company in Saudi Arabia.

3.    Look for online feedback about the Hajj operator, keeping in mind that it shouldn't be the sole criterion due to the possibility of paid or self-reviews.

4.    Seek feedback from pilgrims who have previously performed Hajj with the particular company.

5.    Determine whether the company operates independently or with other companies. A company that has previously operated independently may be a better option, as it will be solely responsible for all operations, though not necessarily.

6.   Will the company refund some amount if promised service is not provided?

Author has come up with following quantitative criteria to compare the services of different Hajj operators. Hopefully, this will enable a pilgrim to select one with the value of his/her money.

In case you have problem viewing the criteria, it can be downloaded in pdf format from the following link:

Criteria for Selection of Hajj Operator (Click here to download)

Note: Author will update the document on the basis of feedback, comments or questions. Kindly feel free to give your feedback below or email at aatif.malikk@gmail.com. 

Jazak Allah. 

 

Criteria to compare Hajj Operators

S Nr	Criteria	Excellent (5)	Good (4)	Average (3)	Below Average(2)	Poor (1)
1	Ask for a document detailing all the services provided by the company, including information on meals (e.g., three meals a day or two), hotel names in Madina and Makkah and their rating, details of items being provide e.g Ehram, rucksack, sleeping bag, number of people in Mina tent and in Arafat tent etc.	A detailed & comprehensive document provided	A document with all most all services provided, but improvement is possible.	A document with most of the service	A document with some service details	A very vague document or none is provided
2	How efficient was the communication with pilgrims during Hajj?	Extremely efficient and responsive	Generally efficient with minor delays	Average communication with noticeable delays	Poor communication	Poor communication with frequent delays
3	Was there a designated administrative person for problem resolution?	Always available and helpful	Mostly responsive and helpful most of the times	Generally available and responsive but not very helpful	Available but response time is slow and very rarely helpful	Rarely available
4	Were pilgrims guided in groups to various rituals(manasiks) during Hajj or adequately briefed in advance?	Comprehensive and timely guidance for all rituals	Good guidance with minor omissions	Basic guidance	Some important aspects missed	Minimal guidance provided
5	What was the distance of Aziziah building from Mina Camp?	Less than 2km	2-3km	2-4 km	4-5 km	More than5 km
6	Did the Hajj operator takes responsibility for any issue/problem?	Always takes full responsibility and resolves issues promptly	Generally responsible with minor delays in resolution	Takes responsibility but resolution is slow	Rarely takes responsibility or work for resolution	Shifts blame
7	How was the quality of the food?	High-quality	Delicious meals	Good quality	satisfactory meals	Average quality
8	Was food delivered on time throughout the package period?	Always on time	Usually on time with minor delays	Sometimes late	inconsistent	Frequently late
9	Were the promised items(e.g. Ehram, rucksack, mat etc) provided on time and without missing items?	Provided on time	With some delay	Had to remind	Had to constantly remind	Missing items and provided late
10	Were the accommodation rooms provided hassel free and on time during whole package days?	Always on time	Usually on time with minor delays	Some times late but management tried to be responsible	Mostly late and no good reasoning or taking responsibility	Provided late and with lot of persuation
11	Was the transport hassel free provided for whole Hajj rituals (ToMina, Mina to Arafat, Arafat to Mudalfah, Mudalfah to Mina/Aziziah) ?	Always hassel free	To all rituals, but with delays	To some rituals timely or with some delays, but management was responsive and responsible	To all rituals with considerable delays and non-responsiveness	To some rituals with considerable delays and non-responsiveness
12	Was the transport for travel to Madina or Makkah provided on time?	Always on time	With minor delays	It was late, but less than one hour	Late between one to two hours	More than 2 hours late
13	Was the transport for Ziarats in Makkah and Madina provided on time?	Always on time	With minor delays	It was late, but less than one hour	Late between one to two hours	More than 2 hours late
14	Were the guides for Ziarats in Makkah and Madina knowledgeable?	Extremely knowledgeable and informative	Knowledgeable with minor gaps	Sufficiently knowledgeable but with noticeable gaps	Limited knowledge	Not very informative, and myopic
15	Is there a post Hajj conflict resolution procedure i.e amount refund for services not provided, additional hotel accomodation as compensation etc?	A detailed and comprehensive conflict resolution procedure provided	A conflict resolution procedure document provided, with some improvement needed.	A conflict resolution procedure document that covers most of the area	A document with some details with considerable improvement possible	A very vague document or none is provided