University Prepares to Greet Parents of Freshman Class

Some of the 1,400 parents expected for Freshman Parent's Weekend may be left out in the cold tomorrow, as most Boston and Cambridge hotels are booked solid.

"I think the whole city is booked up for this weekend," said a spokesperson for the Howard Johnson Hotel in Cambridge.

The shortage is nothing new, according to the spokesperson, who would not give his name. Harvard parents, as well as parents of students at Boston University and MIT--who are also hosting families this weekend--only add to Howard Johnson's annual crunch caused by fall foliage tours and other groups, he said.

"This is peak season for us," he said.

Those parents who did obtain rooms found them by planning well in advance.

"We have been [filled up] since August. It's primarily Harvard parents," said Harvard Manor House General Manager Coleen Kane.

Kane said many parents reserve rooms for parents' weekends while they help their children move into housing in September.

The mother of Thi V. Luu '97 booked a room at the Sheraton Commander early last August, but was determined to get a room even closer to the Yard.

"She called the Inn at Harvard every day to see if they could get a cancellation," Luu said.

Other parents have apparently picked up their sons' and daughters' procrastination habits.

Although the Harvard-Radcliffe Parents Association sent the families of all first-years a "Handbook for Parents" booklet last summer containing the names and numbers of more than 20 hotels in the Cambridge area, Kane said some parents were still searching for accommodations as late as Thursday evening.

"We have been inundated with calls. [Parents] can't find rooms anywhere," she said.