A housing shortage within Boston University has left students housed in the Hyatt Regency hotel in Cambridge for the fall 2024 semester, raising questions and concerns about the duration and convenience of the arrangement.
Juniors Violetta Mason and Sasha Vaknansky transferred to BU this year, and applied to be roommates. They found out they were living in the Hyatt one to two weeks before the semester “with no prior notice,” Vaknansky said.
While there are some perks to living in the Hyatt, such as having queen-sized beds and TVs, it is “not ideal,” Vaknansky said.
BU Spokesperson Colin Riley said that the placements at the Hyatt are due to full occupancy on campus, which occurs occasionally when there is an increased demand for on-campus housing.
“We typically have sufficient housing, but there is an occasional bulge,” said Riley.
The University has previously housed students in local hotels when campus residences reach capacity. Similar student accommodations were made to house students in the Hotel Commonwealth last January and February, according to Riley.
There are approximately 125 students living in the Hyatt, including transfer, Metropolitan and Center for English Language and Orientation Programs students. All of them will be staying there for the remainder of the semester, said Riley.
One of the challenges students face is how far the hotel is from the Charles River Campus. A lot of the students housed in the Hyatt rely on the BU Shuttle to take them to the main campus where their classes are.
Students said they have no way of tracking the BU bus on the Terrier Transit app.
“We have no way of knowing when they’re coming. We kind of just have to wait and see,” said Mason. “They say they’re supposed to be every 15 to 20 minutes, but it really varies on if they’re gonna show up on time.”
Students living in the Hyatt also have to go to Warren Towers to pick up their mail and packages, according to the BU housing website. While all campus laundry facilities are accessible, Warren Towers is the closest building from the shuttle drop-off location for Hyatt student residents to do their laundry using BU convenience points. Students also have the option to purchase one of the four laundry plans at the Hyatt, which range from $379 to $999.
Warren Towers is about one and a quarter mile away from the Hyatt, which is around a 23 minute walk, according to Google Maps.
Mason “didn’t want to deal with” taking laundry to Warren Towers, so the two of them bought one Hyatt laundry plan and split the cost.
Mason and Vaknansky are unsure if they will be in the dorms or in the Hyatt for the spring.
The two attended a Hyatt meeting on Monday, Sept. 3, where resident assistants and BU representatives answered student questions. Vaknansky said they answered a lot of their questions, despite the assignments being last minute.
“They just seem stressed,” said Vaknansky. “It’s not ideal for anyone.”
