Blue-and-white plaid upholstery. Reclaimed parquet flooring. A entrance desk clad in basketball-style leather-based. An outsized statue of Jonathan the Husky.
For a completely branded lodge visitor expertise close to the College of Connecticut’s flagship campus, the Graduate by Hilton Storrs Lodge is the one recreation on the town. An enlargement and thorough renovation in 2020 remodeled the growing old Nathan Hale Inn right into a quaint-but-chic celebration of UConn’s New England roots and nationwide sports activities prowess.
The Storrs Lodge is one in every of practically 40 on- or near-campus accommodations within the Graduate by Hilton model, which the hospitality big purchased for $215 million earlier this yr. Graduate by Hilton is one in every of a number of hospitality teams obese on — or totally dedicated to — college-town properties, together with Brick Hospitality Group, Charlestowne Inns and Scholar Inns. Amid fluctuating enrollment and altering visitor preferences, these manufacturers are leaning on evocative decor, tailor-made stay-and-play packages and domestically sourced expertise to draw college students, households, sports activities followers and different campus guests.
“Intertwining the weather of a enjoyable and energetic campus way of life together with a protected and welcoming surroundings […] builds a stage of pleasure and faculty spirit for the coed and reassures their dad and mom that their baby will likely be nicely taken care of,” stated Gareth Brown, vp of operations at Charlestowne Inns.
School-town lodge ideas are as diverse as the faculties they assist, and so they proceed to evolve as the bottom shifts beneath each industries.
Working with the neighborhood
The Graduate by Hilton Storrs Lodge isn’t the one college-town property cultivating intentional reference to its higher-ed neighbor — or vice versa.
In Waterville, Maine, Charlestowne’s 53-room Lockwood Lodge embodies Colby School’s dedication to its host neighborhood. After a quick stint as overflow scholar housing through the pandemic, the $26 million property — developed by the school itself — opened to the general public in 2022 as downtown Waterville’s first new lodge in over a century, in keeping with Mainebiz. It’s a key pillar of a $200 million public-private effort, spearheaded by Colby and different native stakeholders, to assist the downtrodden industrial city get better from a long time of disinvestment, Inside Increased Ed reported.
Having an immersive expertise whereas staying on campus creates such a optimistic first impression, and [is] one thing that you just can’t obtain to the identical diploma when staying in different sorts of lodging.
Gareth Brown
vp of operations at Charlestowne Inns
Lockwood leans into Waterville’s artsy vibe with public areas that includes curated art work from Colby School Museum of Artwork and a foyer boasting wooden reclaimed from the close by Penobscot River to create “a gallery-like setting,” Brown stated.
In Clemson, South Carolina, Charlestowne’s 41-room The Abernathy additionally aligns its model with its neighbor’s. The lodge’s decor features a life-sized statue paying homage to a late, beloved native mayor who taught at close by Clemson College and advocated for environmental justice throughout the area. Befitting for a college-town lodge within the shadow of an 81,500-seat soccer stadium, The Abernathy’s inside is peppered with Clemson Tigers swag. The lodge touts its assist for Clemson athletics and a associated charity, and hosts a $500 “VIP Tailgate Expertise” on soccer recreation days.
“Having an immersive expertise whereas staying on campus creates such a optimistic first impression, and [is] one thing that you just can’t obtain to the identical diploma when staying in different sorts of lodging equivalent to quick time period leases,” Brown stated.
However college-town accommodations, and schools themselves, might wish to keep away from associating too intently, cautioned Harry Wheeler, principal at Group One, a JCJ Structure studio, which labored on the Graduate Storrs Lodge renovation.
“Most establishments need the lodge to have its personal id and have the ability to stand by itself, but be affiliated with the college,” he stated. “The lodge is often the place visitors first arrive if they’re staying on campus, making it the college’s first impression [and it’s] necessary that the lodge expertise exceeds expectations.”
A poor visitor expertise at a university-aligned lodge may replicate badly on the establishment, Wheeler stated. Likewise, college missteps might replicate poorly on supportive native companies, as when Clemson College went forward with its homecoming soccer recreation in late September as the encompassing space cleaned up from its worst tropical storm in years, The Put up and Courier reported.
Transferring past college spirit
Even in locations the place greater schooling isn’t the principle attraction, university-aligned accommodations perceive the significance of attracting and delighting visiting potential college students, households and followers.
That usually begins with a human contact. Lots of Charlestowne’s college-town properties deliberately make use of college students in guest-facing positions, creating “a right away private connection [and] sense of camaraderie from the second that they test in,” Brown stated. Administration encourages scholar workers to share their experiences with visiting prospects and their households, and so they generally supply “insider” excursions of campus, he added.
That further contact is a win-win for accommodations and faculties. “A optimistic expertise at a college lodge may very simply translate into a brand new scholar and […] supportive household,” Brown stated.
The second ground of the 403-room Dagny Lodge in Boston’s Monetary District hosts classroom area for Northeastern College’s School of Skilled Research, so visitors don’t even want a tour information to get an inside take a look at campus. However the Dagny works to draw guests to dozens of different greater schooling establishments in Higher Boston with an “educational journey bundle” that includes free in a single day parking, a $20 Uber credit score and complimentary snacks.
Scholar-friendly monetary incentives are widespread throughout the college-town lodge spectrum. The Beatrice Lodge in Windfall, Rhode Island, invitations college students and their households to “get schooled” with 10% off choose dates and complimentary Bellinis on arrival. Lockwood Lodge has a number of beneficiant, family-friendly offers, most of which embody complimentary meals or credit on the property’s upscale restaurant. And Brick Hospitality affords “native negotiated charges” at campus-adjacent properties to attract visiting households, stated Sarah Lynch, its chief working officer.
Past perks and reductions, college-bound college students and their households “more and more search sustainability-focused practices and tech-friendly facilities like good rooms and high-speed Web,” Lynch stated.
That’s a simple carry for Charlestowne’s Lodge Marcel. The New Haven, Connecticut property — a brief drive from Yale College, the College of New Haven and different greater schooling establishments — lately grew to become america’ first Passive Home-certified, zero-emissions lodge, making it one thing of a Mecca for environmentally aware guests. It simply launched a contemporary twist on the old-school wake-up name whereby celebrities and climate consultants relay details about local weather change, Advert Age reported.
“Sustainability is the spine of the whole Lodge Marcel expertise, and it has turn into a really pure a part of the dialog for college kids and households visiting the property,” Brown stated.
Navigating an unsure outlook for greater ed (and hospitality)
The Hilton-Graduate merger suggests huge hospitality teams are bullish on campus-adjacent accommodations. However the greater schooling trade itself appears shakier than it has in a long time as smaller liberal arts schools face enrollment declines — terminal, in some circumstances — and seemingly future-proof expert trades jobs acquire favor with younger folks ambivalent about spending six figures on a four-year diploma, in keeping with the Society for Human Useful resource Administration.
“School-town hospitality faces challenges because of enrollment declines, prompting Brick to discover extra versatile property makes use of and potential partnerships with native establishments,” Lynch stated. Future Brick acquisitions may goal mixed-use developments or “adaptable properties that cater to evolving demographics,” she added.
Small- and medium-sized faculties have a tendency to reply quicker and extra boldly to altering market sentiment as they compete with bigger, better-known faculties for consideration, Brown famous. That may result in deeper college partnerships with related accommodations, or — as in Waterville — extra direct involvement in hospitality improvement.
“Analysis institutes, sports activities amenities and specialty packages typically create new alternatives for hospitality providers [and] the faculties which are making strategic expansions in these areas are inclined to have a rising want for premium lodging,” Brown stated.
