By John Churchill
Many people visiting St. Lawrence University have difficulty finding a hotel room in Canton, N.Y., during the busier times of the year. Hotels fill quickly during graduation, parents’ weekend and accepted students’ days, causing many people to become desperate. Even people who try to book their hotel arrangements months before their stay are often forced to settle for hotel arrangements far from campus, because of how few hotels are near the university.
Nick Eurto, who works at the Best Western University Inn, located in Canton, N.Y., is very busy during the days when reservations for big events become available. “I’ve had days where you can get six or seven calls right in a row and have to write a list to go back and confirm with people later,” said Eurto. He believes that the hotel will never have a problem filling all of its rooms during the university’s busiest times of the year, even with the looming addition of a third hotel.
Saint Lawrence senior Sarah Potter, who is graduating in May, and her parents had trouble finding a hotel near the school. “My parents, even though they started looking at hotels months ago, couldn’t find a Hilton closer than Watertown,” said Potter. They like to stay at Hiltons, which made it even more challenging to find a place.
Michael Churchill tried to book a hotel for the night of his son’s students’ day visit but found out that the hotels in Canton were full when he called, which forced him to get a hotel in Ogdensburg. “It was inconvenient compared to being in town, it’s certainly much easier being in Canton,” said Churchill. He called more than a month prior to his visit and was very surprised that the hotels were already full.
Current first year student, Kathryn Jepson ’22 and her family were able to book a room at a bed and breakfast in Canton during her accepted students day visit, which enhanced their stay. “I got to see Canton and experience eating at a restaurant there, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that if I had not stayed in Canton,” said Jepson. It was not only convenient for Jepson to access the campus of Saint Lawrence University, but also allowed her to experience the town.
In order to help with the hotel shortage in Canton, Saint Lawrence University’s residence life department offers housing in the dorms as an alternative to staying in hotels. “Several hundred people end up coming up and staying on campus each year. It’s an option that we offer to friends and family of graduating seniors and many of them do take us up on that offer,” said Assistant Dean of Student Life and Director of Residence Life Christopher Marquart. Marquart believes many people choose to stay on campus because of the convenience and guarantee that they will be given a place to stay despite the hotel scarcity in the area.