Under Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia targets 150 million visitors by 2030, 70 million international and 80 million domestic. The Kingdom passed its first target of 100 million six years early, with 122 million visitors in 2025, up 5% on 2024.
More visitors put more demand on hotel parking. With more EVs on Saudi roads, hotel EV charging is now a legal requirement set by the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing (MOMRAH).
The legal requirement: 5% of hotel parking
MOMRAH issued technical requirements for EV charging in 1442H, or 2020, and formally adopted them in August 2022. They state that 5% of parking spaces in selected public and private locations, including hotels, malls and fuel stations, must be dedicated to EV charging.
MOMRAH sorts parking into three categories:
- Long-hour parking: hotels, theaters, commercial complexes, where vehicles stay for several hours.
- Long-period parking: residential buildings, train stations, where vehicles stay a full day or longer.
- Short-hour parking: commercial streets, fuel stations, where vehicles stay under one hour.
Hotels fall under long-hour parking. Medium-speed AC chargers suit this category because they recharge a guest's car overnight. DC fast chargers can serve guests passing through.
Charger types that fit hotels
Medium-speed AC chargers, 3.7 to 22 kW
These suit the most common hotel case: a guest who arrives in the evening and stays at least one night. Under IEC 61851, an 11 kW AC charger takes a typical 50 to 70 kWh battery from 20% to 90% in about 5 to 7 hours, which is one night.
DC fast chargers, 40 to 360 kW
These are for hotels with guests passing through, highway hotels, and properties that serve short business trips. A 60 kW DC charger can recharge the same vehicle from 20% to 80% in 30 to 45 minutes.
Selection matrix: hotel type × charger type
Resort hotels (long stays): ✓✓✓
City business hotels: ✓✓ / ✓
Highway hotels: ✓ / ✓✓ / ✓
Conference hotels (day guests): ✓ / ✓✓
Airport hotels: ✓✓ / ✓
The number of each type depends on total parking and the MOMRAH 5% requirement.
Operating cost: commercial electricity tariff
The Saudi Electricity Regulatory Authority (SERA) sets the commercial electricity tariff in the Kingdom.
15% VAT is added to the total bill, as set by the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).
Worked example: a mid-size hotel
Take a hotel running 4 AC chargers at 22 kW, used for 8 hours a day on average:
- Daily consumption: 4 × 22 × 8 = 704 kWh
- Monthly consumption: 704 × 30 = 21,120 kWh
That is the monthly energy use before any revenue the hotel collects from charging fees.
Compliance standards
Every hotel EV charging project falls under several standards:
- Electrical approval: coordination with the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) for new loads, especially DC chargers.
- SASO certification: every installed charger must carry certification from the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization.
- MOMRAH requirements: the 5% parking allocation, plus location and technical requirements.
- Connector standards: Type 2, under IEC 62196-2, and CCS2 for fast charging are the main standards in the Kingdom.
- Saudi Building Code: covers the electrical and civil works.
CPMS and OCPP: managing the chargers
A Charge Point Management System (CPMS) lets the hotel:
- Monitor each charger's status in real time
- Produce usage and revenue reports
- Set pricing, free for guests or paid
- Get automatic maintenance alerts
- Connect billing to the hotel's financial system
Chargers and the CPMS communicate using OCPP (Open Charge Point Protocol) version 1.6J or 2.0.1, an open standard from the Open Charge Alliance.
If the hotel chooses OCPP-compliant chargers, it can switch CPMS providers later without replacing the hardware.
Implementation considerations
A hotel EV charging project goes through several stages:
1. Site assessment
- Checking the hotel's existing electrical capacity
- Choosing charger locations near parking and distribution boards, away from busy guest routes
- Checking whether parking is open, covered or underground
2. Civil works
- Cable trenching
- Sub-distribution panels
- Protective canopies for outdoor chargers
- Floor markings for dedicated EV bays
3. Electrical installation
- Charger connection
- Dedicated breakers
- Electrical safety testing
4. Commissioning
- Final inspection to SASO requirements
- CPMS connection and communication test
- Hotel team training
Typical timeline
Installing 4 to 8 AC chargers at a mid-size hotel takes 4 to 8 weeks from contract signing to the first charge. The timeline depends on:
- Available electrical capacity
- Civil works complexity
- How much coordination SEC requires
- How long the chargers take to import
Operating models after installation
There are three common ways to run the chargers:
Self-managed: the hotel runs the chargers and bills guests directly. Suits larger hotels with engineering staff.
Third-party network: an outside operator runs the chargers and shares the revenue. Suits hotels that want to avoid the operating work.
Free guest amenity: no fees, charging is part of the hotel's service. Suits premium hotels that use it to stand out.
Guest experience considerations
EV charging helps guests in practical ways:
- Less range anxiety: guests know they can recharge before the next part of their trip.
- Easy checkout: guests leave in the morning with a fully charged car.
- More bookings: EV owners choose hotels that can charge their car.
Choosing an installation partner
When you compare partners, check for:
- Full compliance: the partner can deliver SEC-approved installations, SASO-certified chargers and layouts that meet MOMRAH requirements.
- B2B experience: projects across several sites, such as hotels, malls and large facilities, are harder to run than residential jobs.
- One contractor for everything: design, supply, installation and maintenance, without splitting the work between several vendors.
- Reliable maintenance: hotel chargers run all the time, so fast support and certified spare parts keep them in service.
- CPMS capability: the partner can connect chargers to an OCPP-compliant cloud management system.
Climatech Charger for hotels
Climatech Charger provides complete charging projects for the Saudi hospitality sector, including:
- Design and consulting: site assessment, sizing the chargers to the MOMRAH 5% requirement, and recommending the AC/DC mix.
- Supply: AC chargers from 7 to 22 kW and DC chargers up to 400 kW, all SASO-certified.
- Civil works: trenching, cabling, panels, protective canopies.
- Installation and commissioning: all work done to the Saudi Building Code and SEC standards.
- CPMS and OCPP: chargers connected to a cloud management platform that supports OCPP 1.6J and 2.0.1.
- Maintenance and spare parts: monthly and annual contracts with technical support and certified spares.
- Geographic coverage: Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, and Makkah.
Our local engineers reach the hotel within 24 to 48 hours of a survey request.
Frequently asked questions
How many chargers do we need to install?
Under MOMRAH rules, 5% of a hotel's total parking must be allocated to EV charging. A hotel with 100 parking spaces needs at least 5 chargers. Hotels aimed at international or premium guests usually install more.
AC or DC?
It depends on how long guests stay. Hotels where guests stay one night or more need only 11 to 22 kW AC chargers. Hotels with short stops or highway locations need DC.
Will installation disrupt hotel operations?
We do the civil works in phases to limit disruption. The hotel usually stays open while parking closes one zone at a time. The final electrical connection needs a short outage at the distribution panel.
How long does routine maintenance take?
Maintenance contracts usually include a quarterly inspection of about an hour per charger, remote firmware updates through the CPMS, and emergency support.
How do we handle guest charging fees?
Charging can be free and included in the room rate, paid by the guest through the CPMS, or added to the room bill. The choice depends on the hotel's positioning.
What is the typical timeline?
A mid-size project of 4 to 8 chargers takes 4 to 8 weeks from contract signing to working chargers.
Next step
EV chargers help your hotel meet the regulations and serve guests who drive EVs. Climatech Charger offers a site assessment for your property that includes:
- MOMRAH 5% sizing based on your actual parking count
- Recommended AC/DC charger mix
- Indicative cost estimate
- Proposed implementation timeline
Get a tailored assessment for your hotel
Official sources
- Vision 2030: official portal, national tourism targets
- Ministry of Tourism, national tourism strategy
- Arab News, October 2025, report on 122 million visitors
- MOMRAH: technical requirements for EV charging (PDF), the 5% requirement
- SERA: Saudi electricity tariff
- ZATCA, value-added tax
- SASO, quality certification
- Open Charge Alliance, the OCPP standard
- IEC 62196 and IEC 61851, the international charger standards
