Points of egress for short term rentals (what's your city allow?)

[Pat Jackson]

My partner and I own a 6 unit apartment on a town square in a small town in Missouri.  The building is ~100 years old, the units are probably 20 years old.  Everything is either currently to code or grandfathered in by the city.  For some of the bedrooms, one of the points of egress is a door that opens to the main hallway.  The other point is the main door one would normally use to access the room.  There isn't a window, as the unit is completely "inside" the building.  The city has never had an issue with this arrangement for long term rentals.

Being a small town in Missouri, short term rentals are new to them.  We are one of their first inspections (they've just recently required a permit for any short term rental).  Being above board, we obliged.  The city has also recently added a second inspector, who is very "by the book".  And there is no book for STRs.

Upon inspection they had an issue with the points of egress.  When we asked why it worked for apartments but not short term rentals, they just replied "they're different".

I really try and avoid pissing contests.  Does anyone have any city code on points of egress for STRs vs. LTRs?  It's my hope I can share this with the city inspectors and say something to the effect of "look, this what other cities who have had STRs longer are doing to keep everyone safe".  I want to emphasize we the owners do prioritize safety, and want to be above board.  But also don't want to lose business to small town politics.  

Thanks for your input and help.

[Kenneth Garrett]

@Pat Jackson

The distinction is when it was an apartment you were grandfathered in. When you change the use those safeguards go away. Per the building code, an apartment is considered an R-2 Use, while a hotel (STR) is classified as a R-1. @Michael Baum had it correct.  The distinction between the two is familiarity with your surroundings.  A hotel (STR) people are visiting for a few days while R-2 (Apartment) where the stay is over 30 days at a time.  In theory, every bedroom should have an escape window  (100 year old building probably doesn’t meet the size requirements, hence your grandfathered in).  Remember grandfathered in is a common term used to clarify an existing building was compliant when it was built, but the rules changed (new code) making it now non-compliant or non-conforming).  You could review the existing building code which provides certain exceptions for existing buildings.