Lawrence hotels booked
By Sarah Hale
Kansan correspondent
Plan to book a hotel room for homecoming and Parents Day weekend? Rooms are still available —but only for homecoming in 1997.
Although there are more than 1,000 hotel rooms in Lawrence, hotels have been booked for homecoming weekend, Oct. 19-20, for the past six months.
"When the football schedule comes out each year, it usually fills up 35 to 40 days after that," said Becky Clothier, general manager at the Ramada Inn, 2222 W. Sixth St.
The Ramada Inn has 110 rooms, and all of them have been reserved for homecoming weekend since February.
With homecoming and Parents Day on the same weekend, some alumni, parents and KU fans can't even get on a waiting list.
"I finally had to close the waiting list because I had enough names to completely refill the hotel again," said Mike Blake, manager at the Eldridge Hotel, 701 Massachusetts St.
Of the 17 hotels, motels and bed-andbreakfasts in Lawrence, all but three are full. The Airport Motel, 1493 Kansas Highway 40, does not take reservations. The Days Inn, 2039 Iowa St., is closed for reconstruction and the Comfort Inn is not open yet. The Hampton Inn, 2300 W. Sixth St., which opened last July, also is booked.
"Even though we weren't open yet, we've been booked for at least seven months," said Kari Lucas, desk clerk. "We got booked through our central reservations center."
Although there is limited hotel space in Lawrence, parents and fans still are coming for the homecoming game and for the other festivities.
"I started calling hotels around Lawrence the first week in August," said Kacie Hartwick, Dodge City freshman. "I couldn't find anything, so I started looking in Topeka. I finally found a room there for my parents. Next year I'm going to plan ahead and call sooner."
Finding hotels in nearby cities, such as Topeka, Kansas City, Ottawa, Overland Park and Lenexa is an alternative to finding a room in Lawrence.
"My parents didn't even bother calling a hotel here in Lawrence. They called a hotel in Kansas City and got a room, no problem," said Lori Bookbinder, Tulsa, Okaa., freshman. "Besides, the room there is cheaper than any I've heard of here."
Some students also have chosen other alternatives to avoid the homecoming and Parents Day crowds.
"My parents knew that they wouldn't be able to find a room in Lawrence during Parents Weekend, so they decided to come a different weekend," said J. D. Horwitz, Wayzata, Minn., freshman. "They are going to visit the weekend after instead."
20
Homecoming