Studdert: Homecoming elucidates Fort Collins’ lack of accessible hotels

Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board.

Homecoming and Family Weekend is finally here: an exciting weekend for students and alumni to connect with their counterparts across Colorado State University. This weekend is a perfect excuse for parents and alumni to break loose, party hard and reminisce on college days, along with being a greatly-timed reunion for students and their families. October brings us Rams colder weather, dwindling savings accounts, roommate fever and midterms, so being in the comfort of family makes the transition into the second half of the fall semester a little easier to bear.

Family Weekend is truly beloved; however, that’s not to say it doesn’t have issues. The concerns surrounding Homecoming are seldom, which makes its main issue of accessibility all the more upsetting. Fort Collins is a gorgeous town with a booming restaurant, brewery and bar culture — fun for the whole family. Unfortunately, the city’s fantastic hospitality industry falls short on one very important front: hotels.

Heading into my final homecoming, I’m expecting my parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew for the fourth year in a row. My family group chat was met with the typical text two months before: “Where are we going to stay?”

With only three hotels — The Best Western University Inn, The Elizabeth Hotel and The Armstrong Hotel — within a two mile radius of Canvas Stadium with available rooms during Homecoming Weekend as of Oct. 13, housing six people affordably at a comfortable and practical location is a daring and infeasible task.

Based on these hotels’ proximities to campus, they are considerably more expensive and begin filling up around six months in advance, making it nearly impossible to secure a room at a reasonable price. The current minimum rates for the weekend, according to TripAdvisor, sit between $599 to over $1,000 a night. Between the three hotels close to Canvas Stadium, there are fewer than 500 rooms for the parents of the 33,400 undergrad students at CSU. This means that less than 1% can stay close to campus on Family Weekend, leaving the other 99% unable to attend or scrambling to find a hotel multiple miles away from their kid, the football game, Old Town, the bonfire and other Homecoming festivities. 
“Nothing says quality family time more than being pent up in a hotel in the middle of a strip mall 20 minutes away from your kid, the football game and all the Homecoming festivities you came to see.”
The number of hotels outside of this range is rational, and there are ample Airbnb and Vrbo properties. That being said, many of the other hotels are either adjacent to I-25 or concentrated on Harmony Road, roughly five miles away. These locations are far from enticing, given their vicinity to busy roads and lack of appealing activities and sights. Airbnb and Vrbo are also a whole other can of worms. Their properties near campus are expensive and limited, not to mention the impact rental properties have on the ongoing housing crisis that Fort Collins and the rest of the country faces.

Additionally, those who fly in from out of state and can’t find a room at one of the core three hotels have no option but to rent a car, pay ridiculous prices for parking or Uber everywhere. This drives up the cost of the trip tremendously.

Many families invest tremendous time and effort into their children’s future. They deserve to visit their child and participate in a weekend of fun without having to plan six or more months in advance, make additional sacrifices to cover the large costs or stay nearly a town away. Nothing says quality family time more than being pent up in a hotel in the middle of a strip mall 20 minutes away from your kid, the football game and all the Homecoming festivities you came to see. 

Given the presence of a large university and a dream destination for craft beer drinkers, it is honestly baffling that Fort Collins’ urban development and economic demand has failed to bring more convenient accommodations to its visitors. It is frankly an unfortunate aspect that really puts a damper on the weekend. It clouds traffic, limits time spent on intended events and curbs the communal part of Family Weekend that so many look forward to at college homecomings.

From this examination of Fort Collins’ insufficient and chaotic lack of lodging, there are two goals: Either tell your family to enter the rat race of Homecoming and Family Weekend hotel booking as soon as possible this or next year, or someone should capitalize off this need for a larger hotel near campus by building one.