§ 5-168. Room register required; contents; occupancy; room rental.

(a)

Any person who owns or operates a hotel, rooming house, tourist home, motel or tourist cabin park within the County shall maintain a permanent register. The register shall be inscribed in ink in legible writing and contain the name and resident address, including state, city or town and street number or rural mail delivery route number, of each guest who occupies or engages sleeping facilities within any such establishment, the number of the room or facility occupied by such guest and the date and time of registration and of checkout of each such guest.

(b)

No person shall occupy any room or facility until after the registration provided for in this Section.

(c)

Any owner, operator or employee, or person in control of any hotel, rooming house, tourist home, motel or tourist cabin park within the County shall be prohibited from renting rooms by less than a full one night's rate for the hotel, rooming house, tourist home, motel or tourist cabin park. A "full one night's rate" means a rate for at least a twelve (12) hour term. This section only applies to sleeping rooms but not other rooms within a hotel, rooming house, tourist home, motel or tourist cabin park.

(d)

Notwithstanding Section 5-168(c), there is an exemption for any owner, operator, employee, or person in control, of any hotel, rooming house, tourist home, motel or tourist cabin park within the County from the room rental limitation providing that the room is being rented to a person registering with or under a corporate or business account.

(e)

Notwithstanding Section 5-168(c), there is an exemption for any owner, operator, employee, or person in control, of any hotel, rooming house, tourist home, motel or tourist cabin park within the County from the room rental limitation within a quarter of a mile of a hospital so they can rent to patients accessing outpatient care, or the patient's family member, at that hospital or other medical facility. There is also an exemption for any owner, operator, employee, or person in control of any hotel, rooming house, tourist home, motel or tourist cabin park within the County from the room rental limitation for renting for special purposes, which shall include air or transit travel layovers, speaker ready rooms, public safety purposes, and nursing or pregnant mothers. The Executive Director of the Human Relations Commission may also grant additional exemptions in advance in writing for other special purposes that the Executive Director determines is consistent with the intent of this Act.

(Laws 1957, ch. 263; PLL 1963, Sec. 44-1; CB-79-2014)

Editor's note

As to State law governing hotels, inns, and boarding houses, see Title 15, Business Regulation Article, Annotated Code of Maryland.