The building code defines any building or portion of a building that contains ____ or more guest rooms as a hotel.

The building code defines any building or portion of a building that contains ____ or more guest rooms as a hotel.

• A. four
• B. five
• C. six
• D. seven

Answer: (C)

The way the code classifies lodging hinges on how many guest rooms the building contains, because that count determines which safety and occupancy rules apply. When there are six or more guest rooms, the space is treated as a hotel, which triggers hotel-specific requirements for means of egress, fire protection, accessibility, and how occupant loads are calculated. With fewer than six guest rooms, the space typically falls under different classifications (like motel or residential) and follows the corresponding, usually less stringent, provisions. The six-guest-room threshold is the standard cut-off used to distinguish a hotel from smaller lodging facilities in the code.

The way the code classifies lodging hinges on how many guest rooms the building contains, because that count determines which safety and occupancy rules apply. When there are six or more guest rooms, the space is treated as a hotel, which triggers hotel-specific requirements for means of egress, fire protection, accessibility, and how occupant loads are calculated. With fewer than six guest rooms, the space typically falls under different classifications (like motel or residential) and follows the corresponding, usually less stringent, provisions. The six-guest-room threshold is the standard cut-off used to distinguish a hotel from smaller lodging facilities in the code.