As soon as those college decisions are made, I HIGHLY recommend making hotel reservations for move in day/orientation. Every school has a different orientation set up - my D’s is right before college starts/after their move-in, & there is a concurrent parent orientation for a day+. I checked hotels in the area, and costs are up for that week already. It is not just the season. If you check a few days before, the costs are about $70 less a night (when you include the higher taxes). That adds up quite a bit over three nights.
In case this helps anyone else who is pinching their pennies (like me, with paying for two in college,) I decided to split our stay. The first night will be for 3 of us, (and I am still looking for that night.) As the next 2 nights there will be just my husband and myself, I found a great express deal on PL - a suite, highly ranked, near the college, for $62 a night. (The Super 8’s/Red Roof Inn’s were close to $90.)
Also, if $ is not too much of an issue for you, distance may be. The longer you wait, the further you will have to drive, because hotels do sell out for these types of events.
Another great decision we made.
Both kids attended school in a city. Not huge cities, one is only about 85,000, but big enough to have lots of hotels, unlike my sisters two girls, who attended college in a rural town of 4,000 and it was hard to find a room.
Some schools also will suggest b& bs, or they may have discounts if you say you are with the school.
We told our kids to apply to colleges within a 3 mile drive from home, or within close proximity to a close friend or relative. No hotels needed for move in or orientation, or parents weekend.
We never stayed in a hotel until graduation weekend for the kid 3000 miles away. But for that, I stalked the B and B we wanted to rent for over a year before the graduation…there were four rooms, and we wanted them all. And we got them!
I already made a reservation for parents weekend, and it was none to soon. October leaf peeping season in New England. Many hotels were already sold out. I’d make a reservation for commencement 2019, but it’s not on the calendar yet. I learned my lesson when I naively scheduled my kid’s bar mitzvah for the same weekend as graduation for the big uni in town.
He’s close enough for a day trip but not successive day trips. So we could do move in without a hotel, but not an extended stay. Other child is an hour away. We never have had to book a hotel, and have driven up on each day of a parents weekend, or when the computer power adapter is left at home.
@scholarme Some schools have a parents orientation in tandem. We barely saw D once her orientation started but there were lectures, Q &A’s and potential tours for parents. There was some good info but most of us were there for the brunch with our kid and the formal “good-bye” period. Of course, not everyone’s families were there but it was really nice for those of us 2000 miles away who wouldn’t have much opportunity to visit the school the next 4 years.
This is where we have found a hotel based credit card enormously helpful. At my daughters school not only do they jack up the rates around move in move out and orientation but for parents weekend you have to pay in advance. The exception is if you pay with cc points. Then it’s fully cancelable and the points rate is not jacked up at our level. The cc has saved us lots of money this way. Don’t know what the APR is because we pay off in full.
While you’re at it, find out how far ahead you can/need to make hotel reservations for graduation, and make a note on your calendars moving forward!
A friend with an older child at the same OOS college as my son gave me a tip about making reservations for graduation. In his case, reservations open exactly one year ahead of graduation, and rooms are gone quickly. (Also, found out there is a three day minimum on graduation weekend.)
He graduates in a few weeks. We reserved two rooms in May, 2014, before we were even sure who would be able to make the trip.
Also, don’t forget to ask if there’s a student discount. The hotels in the area, depending on the time, may knock off as much as $15. Every little bit helps.
I never bothered to stay for parent orientation. For both of my d’s drove up the day before move-in to be there bright and early, spent move-in day as well as quick run to Target or supermarket or drug store or Radio Shack, back on campus in both cases for the new student convocation/welcome/parent good-by and drove home the next morning.
It is important to make hotel reservations for Parent’s Weekend early on… and at a school like Cornell you need to make and pre-pay hotel reservations for graduation weekend that far in advance.
I’ve got a VRBO house for August move in. I had a couple perfect places in my favorites and emailed right away after we deposited. Flights are booked as well. There were some prices that were too low not to grab. The kid flies by himself and stays in the dorm for orientation. Graduation place is already booked for D 2016. It’s a small town with very few places and I wanted my parents to be able to be right in town where it is scenic and walkable.
I learned the lesson the hard way when we couldn’t get a room for an admitted student event last weekend, even though the college is in a city of 80,000 with lots of hotels. Turns out there was a huge Civil War reenactment event for the 150th anniversary of the end of the war. We had to stay 25 miles away.
Also, we were told to ask the hotels if they have an orientation discount. I hadn’t thought of that. Making the reservation later today.
Airbnb proved to be a great resource when my daughter started college last August and most hotels were fully booked. Perhaps it’s time to make reservations for her graduation three years from now so we don’t get caught out again.
Emeraldkity4, it all depends on the college. My son’s orientation happened over a weekend in the summer. He went to his, I went to mine. We didn’t see each other until the end of the weekend. I found it very useful to help understand the ins and outs (every college has their own way.) For my D, move in day, the parents help out with moving every thing in, they they go their way, we go ours. There is a reception/orientation for parents that evening, then the next day (we don’t see each other - there is a lot going on for the parents, just like for the students) - then, convocation where the parents watch their kids officially be welcomed to their college careers, then you meet with your kid, take them out to dinner, hug and say good bye. Every college is different though. Colleges will have their orientation dates up, and I was able to see the schedule from last year for the parents on the site, so that I had an idea of what to expect this year. I wanted to post about making reservations, because if you haven’t had a “family weekend” yet, you have no idea what to expect. Hotels, even the big cities, make hay while the sun shines. Prices in Ithaca can triple (I am not exaggerating.) We stayed at an Air BnB one year, and it was fine - I checked Air BnB, and many of them have higher rates as well. I have already found a great deal for orientation, and am looking for one for Family Weekend, but am not having much luck yet.
Something I have noticed; hotels do have “Family Weekend Discounts” at my D’s college, however it is still
less expensive to book now through an online booking site. Oh, and if you go directly to a hotel’s booking site, the prices are more expensive still (for example, one is $116 through a reputable booking site, then it is $169 on the hotel’s site - then again, the “Family Weekend” rate is $129. I wish that we could just go camping, but I’ve had back issues, and after hours of driving, really need a bed.
Our son and the two of us made an agreement when he went off to college; we would visit for freshman and senior year family weekends. It never crossed my mind at the time that his senior year would be my daughter’s. So, we are making reservations for orientation, and two family weekends. I love my kids, but the timing of these more expensive hotel reservations is poor.
Bookmama22, I know, Ithaca is crazy trying to get a reservation. For graduation it costs around $1,000 for a 2.5/3 star hotel for the required 3 nights. We will most likely be staying at the dorms at Ithaca. Not my first choice, however I’d rather spend the bulk of that money on helping him with his first apartment.
