Answer
The inn's nightly cost before the tax is added $ \$ 240 $.
Work Step by Step
Let $ x $ represents the inn's nightly cost before the tax is added.
$ 5 \% $ of the inn's price is $ = (0.05)x $.
The charges of the inn's including tax is $ \$ 252 $ per night.
In mathematical form.
$ x+0.05x=252 $
$ (1-0.05)x=252 $
$ 1.05x=252 $
$ x=\frac{252}{1.05} $
$ x=240 $.
