[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Township
of Upper Allen as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted
where applicable.]
[Adopted 8-16-2017 by Ord. No. 766]
The purpose of this article is to secure the safety of persons
and property in the Township by requiring the operators of hotels
to obtain and keep identifying information about hotel guests to deter
criminal conduct by guests in hotel rooms and elsewhere in the Township
and to facilitate investigation and prosecution of crimes by Township
police.
As used herein, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated below:
The Board of Commissioners of the Township of Upper Allen,
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
A building or group of buildings containing six or more individual
rooms as rental units for guests or transients for a limited period
of time. The building may include common hallways for all rooms on
the same floor, and provision may or may not be made for cooking in
any individual room or suite. The term "hotel" does not include institutional
or educational uses, buildings where persons are housed under legal
constraint, bed-and-breakfasts or campgrounds. The term "hotel" shall
be synonymous with "motel."
The individual or entity which is responsible for the management
of a hotel as defined herein, or the person who appears to the general
public to have supervisory responsibility for the management of such
hotel.
The Upper Allen Township Police Department.
The Township of Upper Allen, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.
A.Â
Every owner and/or operator of a hotel in the Township shall maintain
a register of all persons provided with accommodations at the hotel.
B.Â
Upon the arrival of a guest, the hotel owner and/or operator or his
or her agent shall require the guest to enter into the register, or
shall enter for the guest, the following:
(1)Â
The name and address of the guest;
(2)Â
The make, model, and color of any guest's vehicle parked on hotel
property;
(3)Â
The guest's date and time of arrival and scheduled departure date;
(4)Â
The room number assigned to the guest;
(5)Â
The number of persons in the guest's room;
(6)Â
The rate charged and amount collected for the room; and
(7)Â
The method of payment.
C.Â
In addition to the requirements of Subsection B above, the hotel owner and/or operator or his or her agent shall view photo identification of a guest and record the number and date of such identification in the following circumstances:
D.Â
The guest register may be maintained in either electronic or paper
form.
E.Â
The guest register shall be kept for a period of 90 days either on
the hotel premises, in the guest reception or guest check-in area
or an office adjacent thereto, or, if not on the premises, in a location
where it can be obtained within two hours of any request therefor.
This subsection does not alter or modify any additional period for
which certain information must be kept by hotel owners and/or operators
pursuant to Pennsylvania law.
F.Â
The hotel owner and/or operator or his or her agent shall not provide
accommodations to any person who fails to provide the information
required by this section. However, this section shall be read consistently
with Pennsylvania law, including the Pennsylvania Human Relations
Act, 43 P.S. § 951 et seq. ("Act"), and any similar law,
and accommodations shall not be refused or denied based upon the prohibited
factors identified in the Act.
Any person violating the provisions of this article shall, upon
conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than $1,000
together with costs of prosecution, and in default of payment thereof
shall undergo imprisonment for a term not exceeding 30 days.
All other ordinances and parts of ordinances inconsistent with
this article are hereby repealed.
If any one or more sections, subsections or sentences of this
article are held to be unconstitutional, illegal or invalid, such
decisions shall not affect the constitutionality, legality, or validity
of the remaining portion of this article, and the same shall remain
in full force and effect.
This article shall become effective immediately on August 16,
2017.