<p>Our son just started his sophomore year. Last year, on an international trip, we met another couple with a child a year ahead of our son. They implied that we were late to get hotel reservations for graduation and thought we needed to get working on it! I noticed it mentioned briefly on the move-in day thread, and I was wondering if some veteran parents could give us some advice. Are we too late? How long do parents usually stay? (I know there is Senior Week, then Commencement.) And what hotels book reservations in advance? The hotel I stayed at this year, for drop-off of son and car, said they have a lottery that opens a year in advance. How does the lottery system work? (Better than housing lottery, I hope!) And does the parents' association tell us about any of this? Just wondering ... And finally, as my son said, what if they don't graduate? LOL and heaven forbid! Thanks in advance -- way in advance!</p>
<p>I look forward to hearing those answers. The only other thing I know is that they also rent rooms in the dorms for families coming for graduation. It is a reasonable price (unlike Ithaca hotels). Those don’t open up until close to the end (February of graduation year).</p>
<p>They gave out cards at orientation with details about 2016 graduation. </p>
<p>Visit [Cornell</a> University Commencement - Official Home Page](<a href=“http://www.commencement.cornell.edu%5DCornell”>http://www.commencement.cornell.edu) for event details
Visits [Visit</a> Ithaca, NY - Official Site for Ithaca, NY & Tompkins County](<a href=“http://www.visitithaca.com%5DVisit”>http://www.visitithaca.com) for local hotel info.</p>
<p>You are not too late. I had a daughter graduate last year and I have another who is a junior; we signed up for the lottery for only one hotel and we ended up getting a reservation there. I think we called the first week of May at the end of our daughter’s junior year. Call the hotels you are interested in and ask about when they start taking names for the graduation lottery. My daughter was an athlete and we visited Ithaca often. Even though they say the lottery is random, I believe that they recognize the names of frequent guests and that is what helped us get our room, so if there is one hotel that you like in the area try to stay there if you visit often. The prices are absolutely ridiculous though…something like $500 a night (3 night minimum - check in Friday and check out Monday, Memorial Day) for a normally $160 a night room. They make you pay in full at the time of the reservation, and I think we could cancel for a full refund by February or something like that.</p>
<p>If we didn’t get this hotel room we probably would have stayed in the dorms, which they make available to families for graduation. It was very inexpensive and I think they provide sheets for the beds, some meals in the dining hall, etc. There are also houses for rent and you can always stay in Cortland if you can’t get anything closer.</p>
<p>There is a website, commencement.cornell.edu which provides helpful information.</p>
<p>Yikes. Maybe, we will just plan on staying in the dorms! $500 is a bit steep. Do they specifically rent out rooms in the dorms with AC?</p>
<p>I’m not sure about the ac.</p>
<p>We rented a house on the lake for D1’s graduation. We booked it a year ahead of time. It housed my parents and few relatives in the house, and we were also able to host a graduation party for D1 and and her friends.</p>
<p>Oldfort, what sort of price range was that? Where did you find the house?</p>
<p>We found the house over the internet. It was right on the lake, with 3-4 bedrooms. We rented it for a week. The total price was cheaper than if we had for 3 hotel rooms. We also hired a cook, which was less expensive than eating out. It turned out to be a nice get together for my family</p>
<p>You’re definitely not too late. My son graduates this coming May and we were able to get reservations at a nice hotel near Cornell two weeks ago. Apparently, there was a lottery and many folks did not claim their spots so they had room. Two other hotels that I was on the waiting list for have also called and offered me rooms.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s $500/night and needed to be paid up front but I feel secure knowing we have a place to stay. Our back up option was the college lottery and we would have been fine with staying in the dorms.</p>
<p>I also have monitored VRBO and Craigslist for houses and could have booked one at several points but decided we wanted to be closer to the college.</p>
<p>We had a townhouse (freshman dorm housing) reserved through the school. The town houses are great – most of them have 2 double rooms, plus a bath, a kitchen and living room. I believe they have AC. My son lived in a townhouse as a freshman so we were familar. You have to take all 4 beds in the townhouse (or both double rooms).</p>
<p>As it happened, the lacrosse team was playing in the NCAA Final Four, so my son was in Baltimore on graduation day. So were we. Maybe we will get to go to graduation for S2 – he does not play lacrosse!</p>
<p>Hi,
I just made reservations at Country Inn and Suites in Ithaca for 2014. They said they take reservations 4 years in advance. You do have to prepay for the three night minimum stay and it was $445 for the Suite. I can cancel for $50 up till March 1, 2014. Good luck.</p>