With dry erase boards on the doors and posters up in the hallways, the Super 8 Motel on Flint Road welcomed a new group of students this week due to a lack of space in on-campus housing.
Last year, after accepting a record freshman class, the administration housed 155 students in two local motels and a South Campus office building until space was found in the residence halls.
This semester, the hotel-housing plan is back, but only one hotel is being used. Already, the Super 8 is buzzing with the 144 UB students who have moved in and made the most of complimentary shampoos and bathrobes and a continental breakfast.
"We're a year older and a year smarter," said Dennis Black, vice president for student affairs. "Last year it worked well, so we decided to do it again."
According to Black, most freshmen that enrolled by May 1 received the housing they requested. Students assigned to housing in the Super 8 are mostly transfer students or late enrollees to UB.
Unlike last year, the students in this fall's hotel class were informed about their living arrangements well in advance.
With 5,242 students living in the residence halls and 2,170 living in the on-campus apartments, UB's living quarters are well over capacity.
"The overcapacity for residence halls is one hundred-something over the norm," said Joseph Krakowiak, director for University Residence Halls and Apartments.
A small handful of students at the Super 8 say they enrolled before May 1, but were placed into the hotel because of their transfer student status.
"I enrolled early, and I was waiting for a long time to hear where I was going to be living," said Jenna Thumen, a sophomore health and human services major who transferred from the College of Staten Island. "Finally I called and they said I was going to be living in the hotel."
Thumen said she wasn't too thrilled by her situation in the beginning, but she has warmed to the life in the Super 8, like so many students did last year.
"At first I didn't really like the idea, because I didn't know anyone. Now, I really like it," she said. "I get along great with my roommate and everyone on the floor really hit it off, and we all hang out together."
Thumen was also impressed by the quality of living the university provided in the hotel.
"I would definitely choose this over a dorm," she said. "We get a bathroom that we only have to share with one other person, brand new furniture, and a cleaner that comes once a week. We even get a free continental breakfast every morning with pretty much anything you could want in it."
Thumen also noted that the shuttle service between the hotel and North Campus has worked well so far in the first week of school. "The shuttle comes pretty frequently, and is mostly always on time," she said. "It really works out well."
Last year, students were far more isolated when they were housed in the Microtel on Hospitality Center Way in Tonawanda, nearly six miles away from the Amherst campus.
Some students, however, still feel isolated at the closer hotel.
Junior business majors and roommates Trevor Conner and Adam Carlson don't think dorming at the Super 8 is working quite as well as Thumen does. Both said the rooms are very nice and the bathrooms are an added bonus, but thought their isolation from the campus keeps them from making new friends.
"There's definitely a lot less people here than on campus, and it's hard to meet people," said Carlson. "I never know when and where the good parties are."
Conner's big complaint about hotel housing is the inconvenience of getting over to campus for food.
"I have never taken the shuttle, and I can never find a place to park my car," he said. "Living here is decent, but I would like to see what it's like living on campus."
Although students have stated many pros and cons to hotel housing, officials have said they feel the plan works well overall.
"We've learned a lot about the shuttle system," Krakowiak said. "We have a shuttle bus that runs from the hotel to the residence halls Monday through Friday for food service, and on the weekends at meal times for lunch and dinner at Governors."
President John B. Simpson said he agrees that hotel housing is in the best interest of the UB community. "It's an environmental agenda as well," Simpson said. "There are less cars, and more public transportation. It all makes sense, and it works very well."
According to Black, vast improvements have been made to the system this semester. "We're definitely better off this year than last year," he said. "We were able to better organize the bus, food and safety. This year we got it all figured out."
One expected problem last year that turned out not to be a concern at all was the possibility for conflict between students and hotel guests.
"We were pleased with the hotel's assistance, and it's really a money maker for the Super 8," said Black. "One of the great things last year was that there was no incompatibility between students and hotel guests. Everybody lived happily ever after."
