Square Hotels See Increase in Bookings During Junior Parents Weekend

When Harvard Square welcomed the parents and families of the Class of 2015 for Junior Parents Weekend last Friday, it lacked one mainstay option for accommodations near campus, the Inn at Harvard.

The Inn at Harvard closed its doors last July for renovations in order to transform the building into swing housing for displaced Dunster residents next year while the House is under construction.

Angel Ovalle, the front office manager at the Hotel Veritas, said that the hotel has seen a growth in overall bookings since the Inn at Harvard closed.

“Any Harvard-related event is important to us. We try to keep track of events going on at Harvard,” he said, adding that the hotel strives to maintain a close relationship with the Harvard community.

Michael Guleserian, the general manager of the Sheraton Commander, said that the closure of the Inn at Harvard likely sparked an increase in room requests at hotels that are farther away from campus.

“I’m sure that the hotels that are outside of the Square might feel a little bit more, but it’s a time of year that we’re busy anyway, so we’re going to feel the same demand that we did last year,” he said.

Ariana Ducas, the PR and marketing Coordinator for the Charles Hotel, said that the Charles did see a rise in room inquiries this year.

“We’ve noticed a slight increase in the number of people requesting rooms for this weekend, but we can’t be sure if it’s due to the closure of the Inn at Harvard,” she wrote in an email.

Though the Hotel Veritas does not offer a discount specifically for Junior Parents Weekend, parents of Harvard students are given the hotel’s 15 percent discount for being part of the Harvard community.

Guleserian said that some parents book hotel rooms a year in advance of Junior Parents Weekend—the same time frame parents typically use to make plans for Commencement, as well. Ducas also explained that families reserve rooms at the Charles up to a year before the actual weekend.

—Staff writer Nikki D. Erlick can be reached at nikki.erlick@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @nikkierlick.

—Staff writer Brianna D. MacGregor can be reached at brianna.macgregor@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @bdmacgregor.