To find the unit rate, divide the total number of rooms by the total number of floors:
\[ \text{Unit rate} = \frac{\text{Total rooms}}{\text{Total floors}} = \frac{988 \text{ rooms}}{52 \text{ floors}} \]
Now, perform the division:
\[ \frac{988}{52} = 19 \]
So, the unit rate is
\[ 19 \text{ rooms per floor.} \]