Came here to make the same comment. Patios are valuable in a residence and windows that can, you know, open, is pretty important too. If you have patios, people

Came here to make the same comment. Patios are valuable in a residence and windows that can, you know, open, is pretty important too. If you have patios, people will put stuff there - lawn chairs, laundry, surfboards, plants, hang flags, etc... comparing a residential building to a hotel seems like apples and oranges. Though, that's not to say that the original point about the "window trick" isn't valid, just that it's not fair to compare buildings of different functions. Hotels can get away with it whereas residential buildings, not-so-much. Edit: office buildings can probably get away with it too.