Talking Stick - March/April 2009 - 25

housing for residence life staff, parking, wireless Internet access, use of community space, and space for a computer lab allow students residing in the hotel to have the same conveniences as those living on campus. Most important of all is a frequent and accessible shuttle service between the campus and the hotel. Students expect to get where they want, when they want, “I woRkED wITH whether they’re walking out of coLLEAguES fRoM their residence hall or a hotel. etc.) to be the responsibility of the student and identifying cancellation fee(s) as part of the negotiation process.” Students understandably have mixed feelings about an unexpected living situation, and keeping them in the communication loop can help ease their adjustment. Rostek recommends talking about hotels as a possibility with them as early as possible. “If students have the option of taking a spot off campus instead, they’ll appreciate the early warning. With first-year students, this idea may be hard for both parents and students to imagine. By being up-front with them that the school has all aspects of a student’s hotel stay covered, they’ll take to the scenario a little easier.” Rostek suggests that having a housing/ residence life presence at the hotel during check-in also helps put both students and parents at ease. “Hire students to work as hotel RAs. The hotel appreciates having a school presence at the site as much as the students do.” Students need to be informed about their own role as tenants, and Cameron suggests that the first “hall” meeting address not only hotel rules and regulations, but also university housing policies. Students need to understand that they are not on university-owned property and thus are not within the jurisdiction of campus security. Students should be housed as closely together as possible, as Cameron explains. “Make sure that you make every attempt to get all the students on the same floors to limit the impact to the hotel guests. Reinforce to the students that as soon as space comes available on campus, they will be moving out of the hotel.” No detail is too small. When it comes to putting everything down in writing, Rostek says that campus-wide collaboration is the key to success. “I worked with colleagues from assignments, residence life, operations and technology to make sure that the bid covered all of the conveniences that a residence hall has, such as laundry facilities, high-speed Internet, ability to get mail, etc.” Institutions should also verify that the facility has adequate liability insurance, and the contracting campus should get a Certificate of Insurance that names the school as an additional insured party. Tomsho stresses that everything be spelled out from the beginning. “Define additional costs such March + april 2009 ASSIgNMENTS, RESIDENcE LIfE, opERATIoNS AND TEcHNoLogy To MAkE SuRE THAT THE bID coVERED ALL of THE coNVENIENcES THAT A RESIDENcE HALL HAS, SucH AS LAuNDRy fAcILITIES, HIgH-SpEED INTERNET, AbILITy To gET MAIL ” Contracts need to carefully identify which party is responsible for what. Tomsho advises that institutions determine which campus representative will be writing the contract with the hotel as early as possible because this negotiation “is a delicate process that needs to be looked at from multiple angles.” She specifies several parts of the contract that should be looked at carefully. “It is important to define in the contract how the damage assessments will be done. What is the process? Is the area open to all guests, and in turn is the college/university really responsible for all damages if hotel guests have full access to the floor? How will the college/ university work hand in hand in the process to protect the interests of the school and not be overbilled in the process? What is the appeal process?” The best way to ensure that all the necessary details are considered is to plan early. As Matthew Cameron, director of housing and residence life at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, advises, “Due to the lastminute nature of this type of decision, it’s important that you sit down with several key players from your campus to brainstorm thoughts ahead of time.” If the idea of housing students off campus is even a remote possibility, institutions need to anticipate their needs and discuss them with hotels. Often overlooked steps include contacting the campus legal department at the outset of any conversations and discussions to identify issues of concern that may need to be addressed when the contract is being prepared. For example, as Cameron advises, “Be sure to have incidental charges built into the contract (i.e., phone, 25

Talking Stick - March/April 2009

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