The University of Hawaii at Hilo is increasing marketing efforts to spread the word about its new dorm repricing plan, which will knock the annual cost of its most underused residence hall by about $1,400 next year.
The plan, approved Thursday by the UH Board of Regents, will lower the cost to live in Hale ‘Alahonua, a 4-year-old, suite-style dorm, to $6,300 per year — or about $700 per month. That’s an 18 percent decrease from its most recent price and just under the cost of an off-campus room in a duplex in Hilo.
Administrators hope reducing Hale ‘Alahonua’s cost, along with increasing the cost of Hale Ikena, a popular apartment-style dorm, will boost housing occupancy overall by about 90 students in three years — to 81 percent — and allow the campus to begin covering debt service entirely with housing revenue by the 2018-19 school year.
“We’re starting our marketing campaign today,” Farrah-Marie Gomes, vice chancellor for student affairs, said on Friday. “We’re reaching out to all current students and potential new residents. So step No. 1 is communicating this approval.”
Hale ‘Alahonua’s occupancy has remained low since opening in fall 2013, hovering at 49 percent this past year and ultimately dragging campus dorm occupancy overall as low as 65 percent in recent years. As a result of low occupancy, UH-Hilo has used reserve funds to pay off a 30-year, $17 million revenue bond used to finance Hale ‘Alahonua when it was built.
Students have long complained the dorm is too costly — Hale ‘Alahonua was roughly $1,200 more this year than Hale Ikena, the next-priciest option.
“Too expensive” is the primary reason students forego living on campus and opt for private housing options, according to an April 2017 campus survey conducted to gauge prices students are willing to pay and amenities they want in dorms, among other things.
“Decreasing the rate for Hale ‘Alahonua … directly addresses the number one reason students choose not to live on campus,” according to a memo presented to the Board of Regents.
UH-Hilo has made other changes to attract students to Hale ‘Alahonua, including the addition of a snack station inside the lounge area this year to help mitigate complaints the dorm is too far from campus dining facilities.
Some students also have complained Hale ‘Alahonua’s rooms get too hot. This year, state Sen. Kai Kahele, D-Hilo, secured $3 million in capital improvement funds to install air conditioning in the dorm.
If funding is released, Hale ‘Alahonua would be the only air-conditioned dorm on campus. Air conditioning would be installed on a “three-year timetable at the earliest,” Gomes said.
UH-Hilo also is upgrading Wi-Fi in Hale ‘Alahonua and Hale Ikena this summer. And it launched a search to permanently fill an “associate director of residence life” position — which has been filled on an interim basis since 2015.
“Part of the reason we’re confident this plan will work in the long term is because we’re also making adjustments to staffing and operations,” Gomes said. “(The associate director) is a crucial component. Because while the whole plan is contingent on more recruitment, we’re still very much focused on the retention component of residents.”
Remaining dorm prices will stay the same next year, though the plan gives the university discretion to begin increasing prices of all dorms in years two and three by up to 5 percent each year. The plan also slightly increases meal plan prices to match rising food costs.
UH-Hilo dorm prices (not including meal plans) next year will range from $393 per month — for a bed in a traditional double room — to $750 per month for a one-bedroom double in an apartment dorm. By comparison, a room in a private home in Hilo averages about $675 per month, according to the memo, and studios near campus range $638 per month to $1,000 per month.
Gomes said on-campus housing includes “other amenities” not factored into their cost, such as “being close to educational opportunities and classes.”
The full plan can be found at http://tinyurl.com/HousingPlanUHH.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
