Umrah Booking Website: A Guide for UK Agents

An umrah booking website lets a UK agency sell Umrah trips online: flights to Jeddah or Madinah, hotels in Makkah and Madinah with a clear distance to the Haram, transfers and visa support, all priced in GBP with live availability. A good one also handles group bookings with deposits and rooming lists, and gives B2B sub-agents their own logins, markups and credit limits. Because most Umrah packages include flights, the site also has to fit the UK's ATOL and package travel rules.

This guide covers what the website should do, how to present packages and hotel distance honestly, groups, sub-agents, the UK rules and a launch checklist.

In this guide

• What an Umrah booking website should do

• Umrah packages, flights and hotels online

• Showing hotel distance to the Haram

• Taking Umrah group bookings

• Selling Umrah through B2B sub-agents

• ATOL, package rules and pilgrim trust

• Checklist, key takeaways and FAQs

What an Umrah booking website should do

Umrah customers compare hotels by distance from the mosque, often travel in families or community groups, and need reassurance that their money is protected. Your website should reflect that.

• Live search and pricing. Flights from UK airports and hotels in Makkah and Madinah, priced in GBP with your markup applied.

• Package-first journeys. Most customers want a complete trip, so start the main journey from packages.

• Clear hotel information. Distance to the Haram, meal plans, room types (double, triple, quad) and the nights in each city.

• Group and family handling. Multiple rooms, mixed room types, deposits and passenger details collected in one place.

• A B2B side. Logins for sub-agents and community organisers who sell on your behalf.

• Trust signals. Your company details, UK phone number, written terms and how each booking is protected, shown before payment.

TravelWhiteLabel's Umrah Booking Solution offers purpose-built journey flows for Umrah packages, groups and visas, and an Umrah Search add-on is available alongside our flight and hotel booking engines.

Umrah packages, flights and hotels online

Most Umrah sales are packages: return flights, a set number of nights in Makkah and in Madinah, and transfers between the airport and the two cities. Some customers will want a flight only, or hotels only because they have booked their own flights, so your website should sell each part on its own too.

• Flights. Content from GDS connections such as Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport and Galileo, or from your own airline and consolidator deals. Show baggage allowances clearly on every fare.

• Hotels. Bedbanks such as HotelBeds, Ratehawk, TBO, Stuba and DOTW supply Makkah and Madinah hotels at net rates, and you can add your own contracted hotels.

• Transfers and extras. Airport and intercity transfers, ziyarat tours and visa support can be package parts or optional extras.

Keep the package page simple: dates, nights in each city, hotels and their distance, flight times, inclusions, exclusions and the total price per person in GBP.

Showing hotel distance to the Haram

For many pilgrims, the most important question is how far the hotel is from Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, and from Masjid an-Nabawi in Madinah. Hotels closer to the mosque often cost more, so distance affects both the customer's choice and your margin.

Distance is easy to get wrong, so be precise:

• Say how distance is measured. A straight-line figure is shorter than the real walk. Where you can, show an approximate walking distance and time, and say which point it is measured to.

• Use consistent distance bands. For example "under 300 m", "300 to 700 m" and "over 700 m, shuttle provided". Choose bands that match the hotels you actually sell, and apply them the same way on every hotel.

• Check supplier data. Supplier descriptions can disagree, so check distances for your main hotels yourself.

• Show shuttle details. If a hotel relies on a shuttle bus, say so and give the frequency if the hotel confirms it.

• Do not overstate. Calling a hotel "next to the Haram" when it is a long walk away risks a misleading description. The CMA's guidance on unfair commercial practices explains how misleading information is treated under UK consumer law.

Let customers filter and sort by distance and city, and show distance on search results, not only on the hotel page.

Taking Umrah group bookings

Many Umrah trips are organised by a mosque, a community leader or an extended family. Group bookings need more than a standard checkout.

• Group enquiry forms. Capture dates, traveller numbers, room mix, preferred hotels and departure airport, then quote.

• Deposits and balances. Take a deposit per traveller or per room, with balance due dates you control and automatic reminders.

• Passenger and rooming lists. Collect names exactly as they appear in passports, passport details where required, and who shares which room.

• Group fares and allotments. Group flights and hotel blocks often have their own name and payment deadlines. Track them so you do not lose seats or rooms.

• A group leader view. Let the organiser see who has paid and who still needs to send documents, without seeing your net prices.

Selling Umrah through B2B sub-agents

If you sell through smaller agents, community organisers or overseas partners, a B2B portal lets them search your packages and book at your trade price, while you keep control of pricing and credit. On TravelWhiteLabel's B2B travel platform, you can onboard sub-agents, set markups and commission, and manage credit limits from one back office.

• Agent logins. Each sub-agent gets their own account and booking history.

• Trade pricing. You add your markup to the supplier net; the sub-agent adds theirs before selling to the pilgrim. Decide whether sub-agents ever see your net, and set a floor price.

• Credit limits and deposits. Set how much each agent can book before they pay, which matters in busy periods.

• Paperwork responsibilities. Agree in writing who is the organiser of each package and who issues the ATOL Certificate.

Our guide to how a B2B travel portal handles sub-agent booking covers credit limits and agent logins in more detail.

ATOL, package rules and pilgrim trust

Umrah sellers face extra scrutiny because pilgrims are targeted by fraud. This section is general information, not legal advice, so check your own position with a qualified adviser.

• ATOL for flight-inclusive Umrah. The FCDO's Saudi Arabia pilgrimage advice warns that UK-based organised crime groups target people planning Hajj or Umrah, and tells travellers to make sure their travel agent or operator is ATOL protected when booking Umrah. ABTA's Hajj fraud advice says all UK tour operators selling flight-based holidays must hold an ATOL licence, and that customers should receive an ATOL Certificate as soon as they pay.

• Your own ATOL or an ATOL holder's. If you sell flight-inclusive packages, you need your own ATOL or to sell as an agent of an ATOL holder. The CAA's ATOL guidance explains how protection works, and customers can check a company on the CAA's ATOL holder search. Our guide to ATOL vs ABTA explains the difference.

• Package Travel Regulations. The government's guidance on the Package Travel Regulations 2018 covers the information you must give before booking, your responsibility for the services in the package and insolvency protection.

• Visas and entry requirements. Saudi rules can change. The FCDO's entry requirements page explains the current visa options for British citizens and says Hajj needs a separate Hajj visa. Saudi Arabia's official Nusuk Umrah platform is also worth pointing pilgrims to. Tell customers to check current official requirements before they travel.

• Hajj is different. The FCDO says a Hajj place can only be booked through the official Nusuk Hajj platform, so do not present Hajj places on your website as if you can sell them like Umrah packages.

• Health requirements. The FCDO pilgrimage advice says pilgrims need a valid ACWY meningitis vaccination certificate 10 days before arriving for Hajj and Umrah.

On TravelWhiteLabel, you can use our suppliers at no extra cost, and those suppliers are ATOL and ABTA protected. TravelWhiteLabel itself does not hold an ATOL, and using the platform does not give your agency its own ATOL.

Checklist: before you launch your Umrah booking website

• Is your ATOL position clear for every flight-inclusive package: your own ATOL, or as an agent of an ATOL holder?

• Does every traveller receive written terms, a booking confirmation and, where required, an ATOL Certificate?

• Do package pages show the nights in Makkah and Madinah, hotels, flight times, inclusions and the total price per person in GBP?

• Is hotel distance to the Haram shown on search results, measured the same way for every hotel and checked for your main hotels?

• Can customers filter by city, distance band, meal plan and room type?

• Can you take group enquiries, deposits, balances and rooming lists online?

• Do sub-agents have their own logins, markups, floor prices and credit limits?

• Do you link to the FCDO's current entry and health advice instead of making your own visa promises?

• Do you accept card payments and show your UK company details and phone number before checkout?

• Have you test-booked packages, groups and sub-agent bookings on a beta site before go-live?

Key takeaways

• An umrah booking website should be package-first, with flights and hotels also sold on their own.

• Hotel distance to the Haram is a key buying factor, so measure it consistently and never overstate it.

• Groups need enquiry forms, deposits, rooming lists and a view for the group leader.

• A B2B portal lets sub-agents sell your packages while you control markups and credit.

• Flight-inclusive Umrah packages need the right ATOL arrangements, and official UK advice tells pilgrims to check this before booking.

FAQ

Do I need an ATOL to sell Umrah packages?

If the package includes flights and you sell it to UK customers, it generally needs ATOL protection, either through your own ATOL or by selling as an agent of an ATOL holder. Check your position with the CAA and a qualified adviser before you sell.

Can I sell Hajj places on my website?

The FCDO's travel advice says a Hajj place can only be booked through the official Nusuk Hajj platform. Check the current Saudi rules before you advertise anything related to Hajj.

How should I show hotel distance from the Haram?

Show it on search results and hotel pages, say how it is measured, use the same method for every hotel, and check figures for your main hotels yourself.

Can my sub-agents sell Umrah packages through my platform?

Yes. On a B2B portal, sub-agents log in, book at your trade price and add their own markup, while you set credit limits and floor prices. Agree in writing who issues ATOL Certificates for their sales.

How much does TravelWhiteLabel cost?

There is no setup fee. Plans are Growth £179, Scale £599 and Elite £999 per month, and API access is £999 per month. You start on a free beta site and billing only starts at go-live; pay 12 months upfront and get 2 months free. Charges from your own GDS or payment gateway are not included. See plans and pricing.

Launch your Umrah booking website on a free beta site

Want to see Umrah packages, Makkah and Madinah hotels and sub-agent bookings working before you go live? Start on a free beta site with TravelWhiteLabel: there is no setup fee, billing only starts at go-live, and you can use our suppliers at no extra cost; those suppliers are ATOL and ABTA protected. Start on a free beta site, compare plans and pricing, or call our London team on 020 3432 6375 (Mon-Fri 9:00-18:00) or email [email protected].