If your hotel has fewer than 100 guest rooms, New York City's Safe Hotels Act treats your staffing options differently than it treats a large full-service property. This article explains exactly what the small-hotel exemption covers, what it does not cover, and what to watch for if your hotel is close to the 100-room line.

Not legal advice This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your hotel's status and obligations with DCWP or your attorney before making staffing decisions. See our companion article, NYC Safe Hotels Act Explained, for the full law.

The Small Hotel Exemption, in Plain Terms

The Safe Hotels Act requires hotels with 100 or more guest rooms to directly employ their “core employees” — room attendants, house persons, and bell or door staff — rather than sourcing them through a staffing agency or contractor. Hotels with fewer than 100 guest rooms are not subject to that direct-employment requirement.

In practice, that means a small hotel can generally continue to:

• Use a staffing agency for housekeeping, front desk, and door or bell staff.

• Scale that staffing up or down with occupancy and season without hiring and firing directly.

• Combine agency staff with a smaller core team of its own employees, if that fits the property better.

This exemption is one of the more direct wins for smaller, often independently owned and operated hotels, including many AAHOA member properties, that rely on outside staffing support to run efficiently.

How Do You Count to 100 Rooms?

The room count that matters is the number of guest rooms your hotel is licensed and authorized to offer, not just the rooms currently in service. If your property is near the threshold, whether from a recent addition, a planned renovation, or rooms taken temporarily out of service, do not assume your exemption automatically holds. Confirm your counted room total with DCWP directly, since this determines which staffing rules apply to you.

What the Exemption Does Not Change

Being under 100 rooms does not exempt a hotel from the rest of the Safe Hotels Act. Small hotels still must:

• Obtain and maintain a DCWP hotel license.

• Provide continuous front desk coverage able to confirm guest identity.

• Clean guest rooms daily unless a guest declines service, without offering a discount for declining.

• Provide human trafficking recognition training to employees within the required time frame.

• Follow the other consumer-protection pieces of the law, such as the Hotel Junk Fees Rule and Hotel Service Disruption Act.

The exemption is specific to the core-employee direct-employment rule. Everything else in the Act still applies regardless of hotel size.

If Your Hotel Grows Past 100 Rooms

An expansion, a merger with an adjoining property, or converting non-guest space into rooms can push a hotel over the threshold. If that happens, plan ahead rather than reacting after the fact:

1. Confirm the new room count and effective date with DCWP.

2. Review which of your current staff are agency-supplied core employees.

3. Decide whether to bring those roles in house or use the single hotel operator exception, where one operator directly employs core staff and manages hotel operations on the owner's behalf.

4. Time the transition so front desk and housekeeping coverage does not have a gap.

Why This Exemption Matters for AAHOA-Style Ownership

Many of the smaller, owner-operated hotels along the AAHOA membership base run lean teams and depend on flexible staffing to handle seasonal swings, sudden vacancies, or a slow month without carrying a full year-round payroll. The small-hotel exemption preserves that flexibility for properties under the 100-room line, while larger, more corporate-managed properties absorb the bulk of the new direct-employment requirement.

A Practical Example

Picture a 70-room, family-owned hotel near LaGuardia. Occupancy swings hard between weekday business travel and weekend leisure, and the owner does not want a large year-round housekeeping payroll to cover a handful of peak days each month. Because the property is under the 100-room threshold, the owner can keep using a staffing agency to flex housekeeping and front-desk coverage up during busy stretches and back down in the slow season, without triggering the direct-employment rule that a 150-room hotel down the street now has to follow.

That flexibility is exactly what the exemption was designed to preserve for smaller, independently run properties.

Documenting Your Exemption

If DCWP or a guest ever raises a question about your staffing model, it helps to have your exemption status documented and easy to produce:

• Keep a copy of your current DCWP hotel license, which lists your licensed room count.

• Keep your staffing agency agreement on file, along with the roles it covers.

• If you are near the 100-room line, keep a written record of your confirmed room count from DCWP.

• Revisit this documentation whenever you renew your license or change your room inventory.

Staffing Support for Small NYC Hotels

Labor Solution supports small and independently owned hotels with hotel housekeeping, doorman, food and beverage, and cleaning staffing that can flex with your occupancy. If you are unsure whether your property qualifies for the small-hotel exemption, our team can talk through your situation alongside your own legal counsel.

Get a quote or contact us, or call (877) 261-7377.

Does a hotel with 90 rooms need to directly employ its housekeeping staff?

No. Hotels with fewer than 100 guest rooms are not subject to the Safe Hotels Act's direct-employment requirement for core employees, so they can generally continue using a staffing agency for these roles. Confirm your exact room count with DCWP if you are close to the line.

What counts toward the 100-room threshold?

The number of guest rooms your hotel is licensed to offer. If your property is near the threshold or planning an expansion, confirm the count that applies to you with DCWP.

Are small hotels exempt from the whole Safe Hotels Act?

No. Small hotels still need a license, continuous front desk coverage, daily room cleaning (unless declined), and human trafficking training. Only the core-employee direct-employment rule does not apply to them.

What happens if a small hotel grows past 100 rooms?

Once a hotel reaches 100 or more guest rooms, it becomes subject to the direct-employment requirement for core employees, unless it uses the single hotel operator exception. Plan the staffing transition ahead of the room count change.

Can a small hotel still use Labor Solution for housekeeping and doormen?

Yes. Hotels under 100 rooms are not restricted by the direct-employment rule, so agency staffing for these roles remains an option.