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Though, in general, I shake my head to all of these college visits familes make these days, it does have the benefit of apprising how accessible the school is and what visiting costs will be.
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<p>Actually, the point I was trying to make is sort of the opposite of what you said here, cptofthehouse.</p>
<p>My point is that you can't judge how much it's going to cost for a hotel room when you drive your kid and all his/her possessions to college based on what you paid when you visited that same college. You probably paid the normal rate during your visit. You might end up paying as much as 100% more on drop-off day. Or parents' weekend. Or graduation.</p>
<p>I've just made (refundable) hotel reservations for the "accepted students day" at schools my D hasn't been accepted to yet! Just to be on the safe side!</p>
<p>Lollers
We put our deposit down on housing to a school that she didn't know if she would attend ( she didn't)</p>
<p>"You might end up paying as much as 100% more on drop-off day. Or parents' weekend. Or graduation."</p>
<p>No kidding. I just checked, and all Palo Alto hotels that normally cost $150/night are >$300/night for Stanford graduation weekend, and most of them are already booked :-/... Luckily, there are many hotels not too far away that don't seem to be affected by Stanford schedule, but thanks for the "heads up", Marian!</p>
<p>Hah. I hadn't thought about it, but we did the same. As soon as my son made his decision, I called the University Inn next to campus and found out that they only did reservations 3 months in advance. I found out which day that would be and called right on time and found out I had a reservation already (!). They had kept my name on a waiting list and automatically reserved the room when it came time. And no increase in their regular price. Good service!</p>
<p>My D bought a shirt at only one college out of the 15 or so she visited. Yep, it was the college she ultimately attended. Though we've kept a magnet from another college that was sent to us during the application process on the refrigerator door to this day.</p>
<p>Funny, but the last time I visited my parents' home (same one I grew up in), I went into my old room (now a guest room) to take a phone call. When I closed the door, a flood of memories came back. Still there were decals of the colleges I had visited when I was a senior in high school. That was my souvenir of each visit. Those visits were made not with parents, but with my good friends - taking the Greyhound bus from city to city.</p>
<p>Marian, I was referring more to the logistics and the necessity of a hotel room. This is a good thread because those who read now know that like the off/on season of a resort hotel, campus hotels do raise the prices for the days when parents are expected to arrive enmasse, such as drop or and pick up days, and certainly commencement. For schools with hot athletic teams, you gotta watch the sports schedule too. Digi's mention of calling very early and getting a room, possibly at regular rates if that far ahead is a good idea. Otherwise, you stay a distance away as my friend always did when visiting her son. But for occaisions like graduation when you want to be right near the campus, you had better call really early to even get a room at any price. One tip, I have cleared waiting lists many times and actually got a last minute cancellation once-called just before checking into the hotel I had booked when the closer one was full. I was able to cancel my reserved room without penalty. Worth a try. And if a hotel is a chain, they have even taken care of the entire switch for me without a charge. This happened a couple of times, because my preferred hotel for Son2 is a Marriott very close to the U and often booked. If I book at a different Marriott and put my name on the waitlist, they take care of the whole thing if a room comes open at my preferred hotel.</p>
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Hotels on Nantucket charge a fraction of the price in the winter that they do in the summer. Caribbean hotels are practically free in the summer. Every hotel in NE goes up in price for the weeks of folliage. They are businesses that have to make money when they can.
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<p>Ditto hotels in certain NE towns on the third and fourth weekends in July - visiting day at many camps! The only nearby hotels were often dirt cheap most of the year, with the exception of the one or two weekends when they were the only game in town and rates doubled or tripled.</p>