There's four unique ppl, A, B, C and D. They can go in four unique rooms, 1, 2, 3 and 4, each with four beds. We wanna find out how many ways to assign each person a room, and multiple ppl can have the same room. For example, A1, B1, C2, D3. Start by assigning A a room. There are 4 rooms avaliable (all vacant). Assign B a room. There are still 4 rooms (all rooms have space). Assign C a room. There are still 4 rooms. Assign D a room. There are still 4 rooms. That gives 4*4*4*4=4^4 ways to assign rooms to the four ppl.