[HISTORY: Adopted by the Township Committee of the Township of Colts Neck 9-10-2003. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
HOTEL
Any building, including but not limited to any related structure, accessory building, and land appurtenant thereto, and any part thereof, which has sleeping facilities for 10 or more persons and is kept, used, maintained, advertised as, or held out to be a place where sleeping accommodations are available to transient guests.
MOTEL
A hotel with individual entrances from the exterior of the building to each room or unit.
The following acts or activities are prohibited at any hotel or motel:
A. 
No owner or employee of any hotel or motel shall allow for the renting and/or occupying of a room(s) or unit(s) in any hotel or motel to any person, nor permit, suffer or allow for the renting and/or occupying of any room(s) or unit(s) to any person, for less than a period of 12 hours.
[Amended 12-14-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-21]
B. 
No owner or employee of any hotel or motel shall allow for the renting and/or occupying of a room(s) or unit(s) in any hotel or motel to any person, nor permit, suffer or allow for the renting and/or occupying of any room(s) or unit(s) to any person, for a period of time which exceeds 30 successive days or exceeds 30 days of any period of 60 successive days. This prohibition may be relaxed in the sole discretion of the Township where a state of emergency exists as declared by either the state, county or local government.
[Amended 10-29-2014; 12-14-2016 by Ord. No. 2016-21]
C. 
Violations and penalties. Any person who commits a violation of this chapter shall be punishable as provided in § 1-9 of this Code. Each individual occupancy in violation of the time periods established herein shall be deemed a separate offense, and each day of such violation shall be deemed a separate offense. The Township Code Enforcement Officer or Township police shall have the authority to issue a summons for any such violation.
[Amended 3-8-2006; 10-29-2014]
A. 
Pursuant to P.L. 2003, c. 114, there shall be imposed a municipal hotel and motel occupancy tax upon the rent for every occupancy of a room or rooms in a hotel or motel. A tax shall be imposed at a rate of 1% on charges of rent for every occupancy between August 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, and at a rate of 3% on charges of rent for every occupancy on or after July 1, 2004.
B. 
All taxes imposed under this section shall be paid by the purchaser of the accommodations.
C. 
No owner or employee of any hotel or motel shall assume or absorb any taxes imposed under this section.
D. 
No owner or employee of any hotel or motel shall in any manner advertise or hold out to any person or to the public in general, in any manner, directly or indirectly, that the tax will be assumed or absorbed by the owner or employee, that the tax will not be separately charged and stated to the purchaser, or that the tax will be refunded to the purchaser.
E. 
Violations and penalties. Each assumption or absorption by an owner or employee shall be deemed a separate offense and each representation or advertisement by an owner or employee for each day the representation or advertisement continues shall be deemed a separate offense. Any person who commits a violation of this section shall be punishable as provided in § 1-9 of this Code. The Township Code Enforcement Officer shall have the authority to issue a summons for any such violation.
[Amended 3-8-2006]
[Added 10-29-2014]
A. 
Every person operating a hotel or motel in the Township shall keep therein at all times a standard bound or electronic secure hotel register in which shall be printed legibly the true name and home address of each and every guest or person renting or occupying a room or rooms therein. The names of such guests shall be written upon the register by the persons themselves, and if they cannot write, the names shall be written in by the person renting the room or rooms, stating that the persons occupying such room could not sign their names. The person renting the room shall also require each person or head of the party who is occupying such room or rooms to display to the person in charge of the register one government-issued photo identification or not less than two other forms of valid identification. The form of identification that is produced shall be recorded, as well as any information from the identification that differs from the information supplied by said person renting the room. The register shall also include the registrant's home address and telephone numbers and the state license number of any motor vehicle then being used by or operated by the registrant, including the make, model and color of the vehicle, and the person renting the room shall thereupon write, opposite the name so registered, the number of the room or rooms assigned to each guest and the time when the same is or are rented, whether a.m. or p.m. The register shall be signed by the person renting the rooming unit and shall show the date of registration and the date when the occupant of each room shall surrender the room. Until all such entries have been made in such register, no guest shall be permitted to occupy privately any room in the house. If the registrant does not write in the register the information herein required as to the motor vehicle, it shall be the duty of the operator or a duly authorized employee to write in said information. At any time any room or rooms are surrendered, it shall be the further duty of the agent to enter the time thereof in the register opposite the names of all official persons making such surrender.
B. 
The register shall be available at all times to any code enforcement or police officer of the Township upon subpoena, to which the hotel operator may immediately consent or decline.
[Amended 5-9-2018]
(1) 
If declined, any motion to quash said subpoena must be filed within 10 days, and, as is reasonable and necessary, the code enforcement or police officer may seize the register pending the judicial decision on said motion.
(2) 
Nothing herein shall be construed to limit a police officer from searches pursuant to proper warrants or pursuant to exceptions from the warrant requirement.
C. 
No person under the age of 18 shall be permitted to rent a room.
D. 
The Code Enforcement Officer or Township police or his or her designee is hereby designated as the local enforcing agency of the provisions of this section applicable to motels, hotels or rooming houses having 10 or more sleeping rooms for guests under the authority vested in him or her at N.J.A.C. 5:10-23.1.
E. 
Code enforcement. The Police Department and any law enforcement agency in whose jurisdiction any of the above-mentioned places may be located may inspect such place at any hour to see that the register requirements of this section are being complied with (N.J.S.A. 29:4-2).