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No good deed
oteliers are at risk any time they take in a guest, particularly if that
guest is experiencing displacement. Their desire to help may end
up forcing them to fight to evict former guests who overstayed time
limits set by local law.
I think it behooves state and local governments, in times of crisis,
to make best use of hotels as a resource by pausing limits on the number of days
guests can stay before they are considered tenants. In the case of two states covered
in this month’s cover story, California and North Carolina, both experienced
disasters that displaced residents, but their approach to limiting hotel stays varied
significantly.
Struggling to recover from wildfires that consumed acres of land and entire
neighborhoods in Los Angeles, California temporarily suspended its 30-day limit
on hotel stays. On the other coast, according to Ashville, North Carolina hotelier
Himanshu Karvir, the state assembly declined to waive that state’s 90-day limit.
“Basically the answer we got was, we're not going to do that right now, so we're
stuck,” Karvir said in our article.
I have been unable to find any further explanation from the state for this decision,
so I’m not going to attack North Carolina in particular. However, I feel this opens a
discussion on the importance of local or state governments in handling disasters.
One difference between the two time limits is the extra 60 days allowed under
the North Carolina law. Still, due to the total devastation wrought by the hurricane,
many evacuees have already exceeded the time with no clear place to stay.
In Karvir’s case, he often simply moves the guest to another one of his five hotels.
Not everyone has that ability.
Failure to waive the 90-day limit, or other limits in other states, puts hotels in a legal
bind if one of the displaced person stays long enough to become a tenant. Evicting a
tenant can be costly and frustrating if the courts become involved, a problem for the
hotels and for the guests who find themselves in such an awkward position.
Cataclysms sometimes require special exemptions to laws that otherwise serve
legitimate purposes. It’s a question of flexibility, the type shown by California Gov.
Gavin Newsom.
Newsom also suspended permitting requirements under the California Coastal
Act for the duration of the rebuilding process.
“As the state helps the Los Angeles area rebuild and recover, we will continue to
remove barriers and red tape that stand in the way,” Newsom said. “We will not
let over-regulation stop us from helping the L.A. community rebuild and recover.”
Others should follow that example.
Edward J. Brock, Senior Editor
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Editor's Letter
04
www.asianhospitality.com
February 2025 | Issue 233