Students in need find temporary accommodation in the guest house of the SeeZeit Hotel

Living space is scarce in Münster. This is particularly noticeable among the many first-semester students who look for a place to stay in the city every year. Studierendenwerk Münster noticed the emergency situation for students and took an unusual measure at the end of August: it opened the guest house area of Hotel SeeZeit for students in need and offered special weekly and monthly rates. “It was really dramatic. We had mothers and students here who started crying at reception when they heard that we still had rooms available,” says Karen Thiemann, the hotel manager. “The basic problem is that students only find out relatively late where they can study. The time to find suitable accommodation is then often too short and finding accommodation in Münster is difficult anyway. What made things even more difficult last winter semester was that more students than usual were accepted at the university. The need was of course correspondingly great.”

Reduced prices for students

The rooms in the guest house are simply furnished. Guests have to share the bathroom and kitchen. Towels and bed linen are changed once a week and bathrooms, toilets and the communal kitchen are cleaned daily. The guest house at Hotel SeeZeit actually accommodates business travelers who deliberately forego comfort in order to stay overnight at a reasonable price, as well as out-of-town students who come to Münster for special seminars. Due to the emergency situation in summer 2023, the Studierendenwerk offered eight of the 13 rooms in the guest house especially for first-semester students. “Accommodation in a single room costs 39 instead of 49 euros for them,” explains the manager. “The monthly price for a single room in the guest house is 750 euros, and 800 euros for a double room for single use.” Adjusted weekly prices were also offered. “So students could continue to search flexibly for a student apartment.”

Offer to be continued

In 2023, the offer was taken up 27 times. The rooms were so popular that the hotel had to keep a waiting list. On average, students stayed for one to two months. Karen Thiemann sums up: “Everyone was very polite, reserved and grateful. Of course, it’s different to a hall of residence where there’s a lot of partying. Nevertheless, everyone adapted well to the environment, we hardly noticed them.” Due to the positive experience, the guest house will continue to be offered in the future