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I'm going to talk to you very briefly because it is a very complex topic. There are tons of zoning regulations that impact each of these type of buildings. Much will depend on where you live.
What I'm going to say is very general as there is a good deal of overlap in each instance.
A hotel is lodging for tourists or travelers. It's considered very short term, usually offering lodging under 30 days per most zoning regulations. Longer can be permitted but if under 30 day occupancy is allowed, it's considered a hotel A hotel will contain a room or a suite with its own bathroom. I'm not going to discuss really high end hotels as can be found in NYC, etc. in which people live permanently. That's another animal. A hotel may offer a dining room or communal common area. A hotel may also have to have a certain number of rooms to be considered a hotel.
A SRO occupancy is a building which generally offers long term housing to very low income people. There will be one or two people permitted per room. Bathrooms are usually shared, seldom is there a bathroom per room. There are usually no kitchens or communal areas.
A boarding house is a building which can have roomers and in which sometimes the owner often lives. Individual rooms are rented, usually for mid ( more than 30 days) to very long term. Rooms usually share bathrooms. Often a meal or two is included in the rent. This is especially true if the owner lives on the premises. There may also be a communal living room and all may eat in the kitchen if permitted.
As far as AirBandB, this is where you have to read local zoning and where you need a good real estate attorney to walk you through the law. In many places, any place rented for under 30 days is considered to be a hotel. Then there a whole slew of taxes, fees, etc. have to be added to any rental every time a change in occupant takes place and such fees, taxes need to be reported. Many communities are strictly regulating the use of SRO occupancy buildings as they need and want those buildings to remain as SRO for the most low income tenants. Low income tenants are those who usually live in SRO.
You'll need to do a lot of reading on your own, make all due diligence and definitely will need a good lawyer to explain law and give advice. Municipal regulations vary greatly. You'll need to find and interpret those regulations correctly.
There are actually a few SROs in Manhattan that are basically operating like a hotel. The city tried to make a rule saying they cannot lease for under six months. They was a battle in court. I have no idea what happened though.
Actually why are they paying out 600K to the tenants and tourists, when it is the city agencies that sued them? I believe though, there are even more SROs that operate like a hotel.
Where does it say they are paying the tenants and tourists? The 600K is all civil penalties, paid to the powers that be..
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