Alhamdulillah Rabil ‘Aalameen! These words describe our feelings in respect of the preceding years and this year. Already, we have organised a successful Umrah and Tour of Saudia and Dubai this April while last hajj operation was another good outing; notwithstanding the flaws that are for the most part inherent in the logistics of hajj operations.

Things like heavy traffic, the way the hotel staffers treat their guests, the quality of the food, the friendliness or otherwise of fellow hotel guests, snoring roommates and the number of pilgrims in our tents are not within our direct control. We get complaints about these aspects yearly and we sometimes get frustrated explaining the situation to an angry pilgrim. We do not have control over these things; no travel agency does. We only promise to give you the best your money can procure within reasonable limits. You will always have a reason to be dissatisfied with what we provide; that is the essence of the feedback forms we give you to fill up. Where the fault is directly ours, we are very interested in knowing what happened and most importantly, how we can stop a repeat of that incidence. Please bear with us; your criticisms have only helped to make us better service providers.

Only Allah is perfect; we are not expecting to be perfect; we however insist that we be understood perfectly and that we understand your needs perfectly too. To this end, we will implore you to fill the forms and emphasize on our weak areas; we seem to get so many commendations compared to complaints. We want to know what we are doing right but we are more interested in what we have not yet got right. Kindly also know that it is not all you suggest that can be implemented; if you see something you suggested that has not been implemented, please know we have limits and carrying out some suggestions might stretch the purse of others beyond what they can afford.

As with every year, we are making some changes in the services we intend to provide you this Umrah and Hajj season. The hotel arrangement for all pilgrims in Madeenah as usual is the Madinah Hilton except during Umrah where the special package pilgrims will stay at the comfortable Elaf Al-Huda Hotel. After the Madinah Hilton hotel Sales Manager addressed the issue of rooming and Nigerian dishes at our last interactive forum in the hotel restaurant, we believe many now know what troubles we undergo to get you the best.

In Makkah, we noted the complaints of those who stayed at the 4-star Salaam Al-Nakheel hotel and we have moved on to a 5-star arrangement. Henceforth, all special package pilgrims will have a limited number of quadruple occupancy rooms which will reduce the problem associated with smaller beds in some rooms. Of course these changes will mean a bigger price tag but like people have come to realize, it is worth the trouble. The only difference in the VIP and Special arrangement this year will be in their proximity to the haram. While the VIP Package pilgrims will be right across the street from the haram, the Special package pilgrims will be about 5 to 10 minutes’ walk away.

Our aim is to please Allah, earning halaal money in the process; we don’t want to give services that will make some people lose the rewards of their worship through false accusations and bitter words. Kindly investigate any accommodation we give you in advance of your trip. We are also happy to answer your questions should you have any, insha Allah.

Madinah Hilton is often fingered as the cause of the perceived poor services in Makkah. Its services are well beyond what you find in Makkan hotels. We as a company cannot start Hajj rites from Makkah due to the complications of Meeqat and other logistics. If we did, the last place of stay would have been Madeenah and no one would remember the hardship of Makkah. We have removed the stay in Jeddah this year; it seemed to do more harm than good last year even though it came at extra cost to the company and not the pilgrims. As a consequence, those whose ticket arrangements keep them in Saudia beyond our check out dates will need to get another accommodation after we check out or extend their stay in our hotels at their own cost. The special package pilgrim will still use the B tents; the A ones will bump up the price of their package otherwise.

 We are still going to use the services of Emirates Airline; our experiment with Ethiopian Airlines last April was a complete disappointment. We know Emirates means a trip to Lagos and expensive tickets but these considerations are outweighed by the peace of mind and relative comfort Emirates provides. There are few things more distressing than being told at the point of embarkation that despite your valid ticket, you do not have a seat on a flight. We have not experienced this with Emirates.

Overall, we are promising you all the goodies we can humanly deliver this Umrah and Hajj. We hope you like the changes and we hope you will understand the limitations and the higher fares. May Allah reward your patronage and your spending in His cause.

We also request your prayers for us; we are in dire need of Allah’s mercy as much as you.