Hotel Room Inspection Checklist
Free and ungated, standards cited row by row, every item rated for photo-verifiability, and the whole list built into the page as JSON so your tools and AI agents can use it too. Copy it, print it, or hand it to an agent.
The full 69-item hotel room inspection checklist is below: free, no signup, printable, and machine-readable. Every row that comes from a statute or standard names it inline, and every item is rated for whether a photo can prove it. Start checking; the reasoning and sources follow the list.
The checklist
Ordered along the physical path an inspector walks. Named statutes and standards are legal or industry requirements; Field items come from published operator practice, rewritten and consolidated.
A. Approach and door line
8 itemsThe inspection starts in the corridor, because the guest's does too. Two of the highest-consequence rows here are physical tests a photo cannot settle.
- Corridor-side door face is free of scuffs, adhesive residue, and dents.A straight-on door shot shows every mark against the finish.Field
- Door closes and latches from a full open swing without a hand push.The common failure is a sagging door that stops the auto-deadlatch engaging, invisible until someone closes the door and pushes.HTNG 2017
- Deadbolt throws fully and, once thrown, no standard guest key opens the door.HTNG 2017
- Interior turn-piece or secondary bolt engages and disengages freely.HTNG 2017
- Peephole is clear, in place, and not reversed or tampered with.Field
- Electronic lock battery indicator is not warning.HTNG 2017
- Evacuation diagram is posted inside the door, legible, and matches the current floor plan.The failure mode is a stale diagram after a renovation; a dated photo against the floor plan catches it.Field
- Door signage (room number, rate card where required) is present and correct.Field
B. Life safety
5 itemsThese rows carry statutes. Under the Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2225), hard-wired single-station smoke detectors are required in each guest room, and automatic sprinklers in properties over three stories; the three-story carve-out is why the sprinkler rows do not apply everywhere.
- Smoke detector is present, mounted, unpainted, and unobstructed.One ceiling frame proves presence, mounting, and obstruction at once.15 USC 2225
- Smoke detector sounds on test, and the test is recorded against the unit.The maintenance record, not the beep, is what matters after an incident.15 USC 2225
- Sprinkler head (properties over three stories) is clean, unpainted, with clear space beneath.Also catches the classic violation: a hanger or decoration hung from the head.15 USC 2225
- Carbon monoxide detector is present where the room has fuel-burning equipment or adjoins a garage.State codes vary; check yours.Field
- Detector and sprinkler coverage is not blocked by newly added furniture or fixtures.15 USC 2225
C. Accessibility (accessible rooms)
5 itemsThe richest untapped seam in the whole SERP. An accessible room can pass a normal cleanliness inspection while silently failing the 2010 ADA Standards, because the failure mode is furniture placement: a luggage rack parked in the clear floor space converts a compliant room into a non-compliant one during a routine clean.
- Clear floor space on both sides of the bed is unobstructed by racks, chairs, bins, or carts.The single most camera-friendly compliance item on this page: the failure is an object in a space.ADA 806.2.3
- Turning space inside the room is clear of movable furniture.ADA 806.2.6
- Grab bars, transfer seat, and roll-in shower features are present, secure, and match the room type on file.Presence and position photograph; secure needs a pull.ADA 806.2.4
- Visible notification device for phone and door knock is installed and not unplugged.ADA 806.3.2
- Accessible features present in the room still match what the reservation system publishes for it.Grab bars removed in a refresh or a bench taken out are inspection findings with regulatory teeth: the reservation rule requires the listing to describe features accurately.28 CFR 36.302
D. Bed and linens
6 items- Sheets, duvet cover, and pillowcases are fresh, unstained, and free of hair.Field
- Bed is made to the property's fold and pillow-count standard.A photo against a reference image is how a standard becomes enforceable.Field
- Mattress protector is present and unsoiled, checked by lifting the top layer.Photo-verifiable only if the routine requires the lift; this is a coverage rule, not a framing rule.Field
- Mattress shows no sag, ring stains, or seam tears.Field
- Bed skirt is aligned and nothing is stored under the bed.Field
- Headboard face and top edge are free of dust and marks.Field
E. Surfaces, soft goods, and floor
9 items- All horizontal surfaces are dust-free, including frame tops, mirror tops, and the wardrobe.Field
- Inside of lampshades is free of dust and insects.Field
- Carpet is vacuumed to the edges and under furniture; hard floors are streak-free.OSHA 1910.22
- Walls, baseboards, and ceiling corners are free of cobwebs, scuffs, and marks.Field
- Upholstery is free of stains, burns, and pet hair.Field
- Curtains and blackout drapes hang evenly, run the full track, and close with no light gap.Field
- Windows are clean and free of scratches, cracks, or seal fogging.Keep the scratch (damage, chargeable) separate from the smudge (cleaning) on the form.Field
- Window restrictors and locks engage where fitted.Field
- Artwork is straight, clean, and securely mounted.Field
F. Furniture, storage, and presentation
5 items- Every drawer and cabinet opens, closes, and is empty of the previous guest's belongings.Field
- Closet holds the standard hanger count, luggage rack, iron and board, and laundry bag.Counts are exactly what a camera settles and a self-report rounds.Field
- Chairs, desk, and tables are stable, with no visible surface damage.Field
- Room compendium, directory, and safety collateral are the current version.Field
- Furniture is placed to the room setup diagram.Field
G. Electrical, electronics, and climate
9 items- Every lamp, switch, and fixture lights, with matched bulb color temperature.Mismatched bulbs are visible only in a lights-on frame.Field
- TV powers on to the correct input and channel guide.The input, not the panel, is the real failure mode; a working TV on the wrong input reads as broken to a guest.Field
- Remote is present and clean, and its batteries hold.Field
- Phone gives a dial tone and the extension card matches current extensions.Field
- All accessible outlets and USB ports deliver power.Field
- Outlets, plates, and fixtures show no scorching, cracking, or tampering.Field
- Alarm clock shows the correct time.Field
- HVAC reaches setpoint, runs quietly, and the vent grille is dust-free.Field
- Thermostat is returned to the arrival default.Field
H. Bathroom
13 items- Toilet is clean on the bowl, seat, underside of the seat, and base behind the pedestal.The underside is the item generic checklists miss and the one guests photograph.Field
- Toilet flushes fully and refills without running.Field
- Shower and tub are free of soap film, hair, and mildew at the grout and silicone line.Field
- Caulk and grout are intact, uncracked, and undiscolored.Field
- Drains run freely with no standing water and no odor.Field
- Hot water arrives at the tap within the property's standard.Field
- Exhaust fan runs, quietly, and is not lint-choked.Field
- Mirror and chrome are streak-free and spot-free.Field
- Towel set is complete and folded to standard; bath mat present.Field
- Amenities are restocked to the standard set and correctly positioned.Field
- Toilet paper is at or above the standard visible count.Field
- Hairdryer is present and clean, cord undamaged, and it runs.Field
- Bathroom bin is emptied and relined.OSHA 1910.22
I. Amenities and in-room service
4 items- Coffee maker is clean inside and out; supplies restocked to standard.Field
- Ice bucket is clean with a fresh liner; glassware clean and unchipped.Field
- Minibar or fridge holds temperature and is stocked to the inventory sheet.Field
- In-room safe opens, resets to the default code, and is anchored.Field
J. Final sweep, pests, and sign-off
5 itemsThe last three rows are what turn the rest of the list into evidence.
- No sign of bed bugs at mattress seams, headboard back, box spring edge, and the nearest wall socket line.The photo is the escalation here: the pest team needs to see it before the room is stripped and the evidence destroyed.Field
- No evidence of other pests in corners, cracks, and crevices.Field
- Room odor is neutral at the door, the bed, and the bathroom.Odor is not an image property, and no camera system should claim it.Field
- Final doorway-height frame of the whole room, taken last, matched to the reference frame.The reference-frame row. Inspectors argue about what was already broken; a dated wide frame ends the argument.Field
- Inspector name, date, room number, and disposition are recorded.Field
For AI agents and integrations
This checklist ships as structured data inside this page: every item with its section, basis, and photo-verifiability rating, in the #checklist-data JSON block of this document. Fetch this URL and parse that block, or copy it directly. Free to use with attribution to RapidEye.
What a photo settles, and what it cannot
According to J.D. Power’s 2025 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index, as reported by Hotels Magazine (hotelsmag.com), 12 percent of guests hit a problem during their stay, and when one occurs satisfaction falls 217 points. The inspection exists to catch the problem while it is still a checklist row, and every item above carries a camera rating for exactly that reason. The tally is the honest headline: 42 of 69 items are settled by a photograph, 16 are partially photo-verifiable, and 11 need a person. Latch engagement, water temperature, drain flow, outlet power, and odor are physical tests; no photo proves them and no photo-review system should claim to. What the ratings also reveal is a third category: items that are photo-verifiable only if the routine changes. The mattress protector photographs fine, but only if someone lifts the top layer. The toilet underside photographs fine, but only if someone shoots it. Getting evidence is mostly not a camera problem; it is a coverage problem, which is a routine you design.
That is also where this page hands off. If your team already photographs rooms during turnover or inspection, RapidEye reads every photo against the room's baseline and flags what changed: the scratch that was not there, the missing hanger count, the luggage rack parked in the ADA clear floor space. For the full analysis of which room defects a camera can and cannot detect, see What AI can detect in a hotel room, which classifies 65 supervisor-checklist items by camera-verifiability in depth.
The standards behind the rows
These are the authorities the checklist cites, with what each one actually requires. Legal identifiers are given precisely so your own counsel or brand-standards team can verify them.
| Authority | What it requires in a guest room |
|---|---|
| 15 U.S.C. 2225 | The Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act: hard-wired, single-station smoke detectors in each guest room (per NFPA 74), and automatic sprinklers (NFPA 13 or 13-R) in properties over three stories. Listing on the federal Safe Stay list, and eligibility for federal-employee travel, hangs on this. |
| 2010 ADA Standards, 224 and 806 | Accessible-room counts by property size (Table 224.2: a 101-to-150-room hotel needs 7 mobility-feature rooms, 5 without roll-in showers plus 2 with; Table 224.4: 12 communication-feature rooms), dispersion across room classes, clear floor space beside beds (806.2.3), turning space (806.2.6), and visible notification devices (806.3.2). Verified against the US Access Board's published tables (access-board.gov). |
| 28 CFR 36.302(e) | The reservations rule: accessible features must be described accurately in the reservation system, accessible rooms held out of general inventory until other rooms of the type are sold, and a reserved accessible room guaranteed to the customer. An inspection that finds the room no longer matches its listing is finding a violation of this section. |
| HTNG Door Lock Security Best Practices v1.0 | The hotel industry's own 2017 lock standard, hosted by AHLA (ahla.com): deadbolt mortise, anti-pick auxiliary latch, keys inoperable when the deadbolt is thrown, auto-deadlatch fitted against carding attacks with correct door-frame tolerances, low-battery indicator, and a lock audit trail of at least the last 1,000 entries. |
| OSHA 29 CFR 1910.22 | Walking-working surfaces: kept clean, orderly, and sanitary, with floors dry where feasible. The general-duty floor of every housekeeping row. |
Quick FAQ
How many rooms should a supervisor inspect each day?
A commonly cited industry benchmark, published by housekeeping software vendor Amenie (amenie.com), is 20 to 30 percent of rooms cleaned daily, plus every room cleaned by a new employee and every VIP room, targeting over 90 percent first-pass approval. These are vendor-published operating norms, not regulations, and the sampling rate is exactly the gap photo review closes: a camera can look at 100 percent.
How long does a room inspection take?
Published time standards run 5 to 7 minutes for a standard room and 10 to 12 for a suite, with 2-to-3-minute attendant self-inspections. A full 69-item pass with photos takes longer, which is why properties sample.
How many accessible rooms does a hotel need?
It scales with size under 2010 ADA Table 224.2: from 1 mobility-feature room at the smallest properties to 7 at 101-to-150 rooms (5 without roll-in showers, 2 with), plus communication-feature rooms under Table 224.4 (12 at that size). Above 500 rooms the requirement becomes a percentage.
Can photos replace the physical inspection?
No, and this page is specific about why: 11 of the 69 items are physical tests. What photos do is make the visual majority reviewable after the fact, at 100 percent coverage instead of a 20-to-30-percent sample, and disputable with evidence instead of memory.
Sources
Sources are named at the publisher level with their root domain, rather than linked or titled; every figure is verifiable at the named source.
- Hotel and Motel Fire Safety Act text (15 U.S.C. 2225) and ADA reservations rule (28 CFR 36.302), Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law Schoollaw.cornell.edu
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, sections 224 and 806, US Access Boardaccess-board.gov
- HTNG Door Lock Security Best Practices v1.0 (2017), hosted by the American Hotel and Lodging Associationahla.com
- Walking-working surfaces standard (29 CFR 1910.22), Occupational Safety and Health Administrationosha.gov
- Hotel room inspection guidance and templates, Mitti (formerly SafetyCulture)mitti.com
- Hotel room inspection checklist by area and type, Matterportmatterport.com
- Housekeeping inspection ratios and time standards, Amenieamenie.com
- 2025 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index figures, J.D. Power, as reported by Hotels Magazinehotelsmag.com