To keep pace with demand for student housing, UL has leased two off-campus hotels, paying their operators $5.5 million for a combined 205 rooms.
Dozens, including some families with children, were displaced from the WoodSpring Suites to make room for the contract at UL. WoodSpring is an extended stay hotel, and its rooms include kitchenettes and other amenities meant for longer term residence.
UL is paying WoodSpring’s operators $2.3 million for the upcoming year with an option to renew for the 2025-26 academic year, according to the Acadiana Advocate.
UL booked 83 rooms at he Wingate by Wyndham Hotel near Lafayette Regional Airport for $3.2 million.
There are some of furnished rooms and apartments available, but many are at a price point higher than these families could afford.
Enrollment at UL is rebounding after a substantial dip before the pandemic. Successively larger freshman classes have driven higher and higher demand for on-campus housing. UL turned to the rental market to make up the shortfall, quickly running out of options there.
Without building more on-campus facilities, UL is likely to continue pursuing lease agreements with local hotels and apartment buildings, says DeWayne Bowie, UL’s vice president for enrollment management.
“We’re going to have to keep doing what we’re doing,” Bowie says of UL’s plans to deal with the growth.