(a) Definitions.
(1) "Dwelling" means a building occupied as a place of abode by one or more persons.
(2) "Hotel/motel" means any dwelling licensed as such by the State Fire Marshal and kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to the public to be a place where sleeping accommodations are offered for pay to transient guests, in which six or more rooms are used for the accommodations of such guests.
(3) “Register” means a list of names, addresses, items and etc. collected as a function of doing business as a hotel, motel, or rooming house. The register may be collected and maintained in any retrievable format, hard or soft.
(4) "Rooming house" means a dwelling occupied by one or more persons in which three or more rooms are kept, used, maintained, advertised or held out to the public to be a place where sleeping accommodations are offered for pay.
(5) “Pronoun Use”. He is a masculine pronoun which, whenever it or its derivatives are mentioned, shall include the feminine pronoun “she” and it’s derivatives.
(b) Guest Register Required.
(1) A guest register shall be maintained at all times and the hotel, motel or rooming house operator shall require each person to whom a room is let for occupancy to sign both name and address in the register prior to renting or occupying the same.In the case of husband and wife, one personmay sign for both.A parent or guardian may sign for children in their care.
(2) The operator in charge at the time of signing shall note opposite the name of each guest the room number or numbers of the room or rooms assigned for occupancy and the time and date of beginning such occupancy. When a guest relinquishes occupancy, the operator in charge shall note in the register the time and date of leaving.All entries shall be in ink and shall not be in any manner, erased, obliterated or defaced.
(3) The guest register shall be available for inspection for six months following the date of entry in the register.
(c) Register to be Open for Inspection. Guest registers shall at all times be open for inspection by members of the Police and Fire Departments and Building Division for the purposes of conducting investigations or inspections pursuant to the Codified Ordinances of the City or the Ohio Revised Code.
(d) Whoever violates this section is guilty of a minor misdemeanor.
(Ord. 2008-09. Passed 4-22-08.)