A student revealed that she saves more than £ 4,300 per year by living in a hotel rather than university accommodation.
And others have revealed they are using a similar trick to save thousands of pounds.
Tigerlily Taylor, 20, posted her story on TIC Tac and received 48.7,000 likes and 677.3,000 views, with many other students showing their appreciation for this tip.
lumenhinata said “Genie, I saved so much money”, snapback3G said “I do it too, but at the Premier Inn” and Bethanyblissett said “I do it too”.
Ms Taylor, who lives in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, attends the University of Northampton.
Tigerlily told MoneySuperMarket: âOn average, university accommodation costs £ 620 per month (that’s for a large en-suite bedroom).
“My hotel room usually costs around £ 35 a night and I only need to stay once a week, so every month I spend an average of £ 140 on a double room at the Travelodge.”
She also revealed that she spends an extra £ 30 to get around twice a week. Three days a week, she is required to attend university with one of those days separate from the other two.
That day, she only commutes for the day. In total she spends £ 260 per month which is a huge savings of £ 360 per month and £ 4,320 per year if she lived in university accommodation.
Many students are now only required to attend university a few days a week, with the rest being taught online. Depending on how many people you need to go to a hotel, it might cost less.
MoneySuperMarket also found out for how many college towns it would work by finding out the cost per night of the 557 Travelodges in England, Scotland and Wales for each available date in 2022.
They compared it with the new Unipol and NUS data, examining the average cost of university accommodation in the UK. (The data was released on December 10, 2021).
|
Place |
Average rent for student accommodation per week (£) |
The average price of a Travelodge in this area for one night (£) |
No max. days when a hotel is cheaper |
|
Scotland |
154 |
49.63 |
3 nights / 4 days at the university |
|
Northeast |
130.5 |
50.63 |
2 nights / 3 days at the university |
|
North West |
144 |
49.63 |
2 nights / 3 days at the university |
|
East of England |
156 |
52.96 |
2 nights / 3 days at the university |
|
Midlands |
151.5 |
47.88 |
2 nights / 3 days at the university |
|
London |
235.5 |
58.28 |
4 nights / 5 days at the university |
|
South West |
169 |
60.74 |
2 nights / 3 days at the university |
|
South East |
173.5 |
55.39 |
3 nights / 4 days at the university |
|
Wales |
135 |
59.16 |
2 nights / 3 days at the university |
|
North Ireland |
132.5 |
n / A |
Jo Thornhill of MoneySuperMarket said: â.
âSurprisingly, we have found that the most cost effective areas to switch to hotel accommodation are for students attending universities in London. Students in London with 5 or less days in college would be better off paying for a hotel rather than student accommodation.
When asked what other advice Tigerlily had for college students, she replied, âI would say that would be to open a student bank account, as some banks offer interest-free overdrafts and other perks.
âAnother tip would be as soon as your student loan arrives, budget it immediately. It is so easy to spend it all but instead I would suggest having a plan for the money and putting some money aside for necessities first, whatever is left can be saved for the luxury.
For more information, tips and tricks, and to find the best deals for you, visit SilverSuperMarket.