For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
FACILITATOR. Any person or entity who provides a means through which a person may book a hotel room and/or transient occupancy rental unit to lessees, regardless of whether payment is transferred through or processed by such facilitator. Facilitators are considered lessors, as used herein. Online travel companies are considered facilitators, as used herein.
GROSS RENT. The total amount of consideration for occupancy, valued in money, whether received in money or likewise, including all receipts, cash, credits, and property or services of any kind or nature, including but not limited to, amounts charged for the making, booking, facilitating, or servicing of reservations. GROSS RENT means both (a) the "net rate" paid to the hotel or motel by a facilitator for room occupancy by the consumer; and (b) the amount retained by the facilitator for travel-related services provided to the consumer (sometimes referred to as a "facilitation fee"), and any additional amounts retained by the facilitator as compensation for its services to the consumer for the individual transaction, or, in the instance of a consumer's direct rental of a room with the hotel or motel, gross rent shall mean the amount charged by the hotel or motel directly to the consumer for the occupancy of the room.
HOTEL or MOTEL. A structure kept, used or maintained as or advertised or held out to the public to be an inn, motel, hotel, apartment-hotel, apartment, home, lodging house, dormitory or place where sleeping, rooming, office, conference or exhibition accommodations are furnished for lease or rent, whether with or without meals. For avoidance of doubt, “transient occupancy rental units” are HOTELS under this definition.
HOTEL ROOM or MOTEL ROOM. A room within a structure kept, used or maintained as or advertised or held out to the public to be an inn, motel, hotel, apartment-hotel, lodging house, dormitory or place where sleeping, rooming, office, conference or exhibition accommodations are furnished for lease or rent, with or without meals. One room offered for rental, with or without an adjoining bath, shall be considered as a SINGLE HOTEL OR MOTEL ROOM. The number of hotel or motel rooms within a suite shall be computed on the basis of those rooms utilized for the purpose of sleeping.
LESSEE. Any person who pays for the privilege of occupying all or part of a hotel.
LESSOR. A person having a sufficient proprietary interest in conducting the operation of a hotel, or receiving the consideration for the rental of all or part of such hotel, so as to entitle such person to all or a portion of the net receipts thereof, including facilitators, as defined herein.
ONLINE TRAVEL COMPANY. An organization that books, reserves, or rents hotel or motel rooms and makes other travel arrangements for consumers via the World Wide Web, internet or other digital means. ONLINE TRAVEL COMPANIES are considered facilitators, as used herein.
PERSON. Any natural person, receiver, administrator, executor, conservator, assignee, trust in perpetuity, trust, estate, firm, co-partnership, joint venture, club, company, business trust, domestic or foreign corporation, association, syndicate, society of any group of individuals acting as a unit, whether mutual, cooperative, fraternal, nonprofit, or otherwise, whenever the term PERSON is used in any clause prescribing and imposing a penalty, the term as applied to associations shall mean the owners or part-owners thereof, and as applied to corporations, the offices thereof, or any other entity recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
PERMANENT RESIDENT. Any person who has occupied or has the right to occupy all or part of a hotel for more than 30 consecutive days.
TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY RENTAL UNIT. A dwelling unit or a habitable unit that is offered, in whole or in part, for rent, lease or hire that is rented, leased or hired for which a lessor receives consideration from a person for a period of 30 days or less and that person has the right to use, occupy or possess all or part of the dwelling unit or habitable unit for said period.
(1980 Code, § 17.202) (Ord. 9379, passed 5-6-2019; Ord. 9393, passed 12-9-2019)