Hotels in Erlanger could soon be required to keep a registry of their guests if an ordinance discussed at Tuesday’s city council meeting comes to fruition.
City Attorney Jack Gatlin said the proposal would be added to the nuisance ordinance passed just over a year ago that targeted frequent property offenders.
“So for us, specifically, when we look into this, the [Kentucky State Police] sex offender registry is something that we are checking into, and it seems like maybe we have some people that are trying to use the hotels for their permanent residence,” said Police Chief Kyle Rader. “Right now, we have no way of proving through the hotel, that that is actually the case.”
Rader said that the state of Kentucky allows sex offenders to mark themselves as homeless on the registry, which allows offenders to fly under the radar and hide long-term in hotels or motels.
Having hotel tenant lists, Rader said, would help police to build evidence and keep records of tenants, especially sex offenders or those with warrants who may not be disclosing their whereabouts.
Gatlin said the ordinance should benefit both the city and protect the hotels by helping eliminate property offenders.
Before an ordinance goes into affect, city council would discuss benefits and concerns with local hotel and motel owners. In its current state, Gatlin said, the ordinance is vague so as to invite conversation from the community about what it could look like.
Information required at check-in under the ordinance would be a valid ID and the license plate number of any car a tenant is keeping at the hotel.
Councilmember Tyson Hermes said it might be good for there to be an amendment that clarifies who can request the information provided and how often it can be asked for.
“I think we need to probably put a little bit more detail [on] who can request the information,” Hermes said. “I think there should probably be something, some kind of verbiage about it.”
Hermes also suggested that the city be required to have a reason to ask for the information and to limit the number of requests when corresponding with the businesses. Rader said a way to mitigate these concerns would be processing reports that would have official documentation of why the information was requested and by whom.
Rentals with fewer than six rooms, such as homes listed using the sites Airbnb or Vrbo, would not be affected by this ordinance, Gatlin said. Rader added that most people of interest would be more likely to stay in hotels due to the cheaper prices compared to an Airbnb home.
City council will collect input from hotels before taking the issue back up at a later meeting. The date for that meeting is yet to be determined.