Student Housing Business is the voice of the student housing industry.
Issue link: https://studenthousingbusiness.epubxp.com/i/488341
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS MARCH/APRIL 2015 STUDENT HOUSING BUSINESS .COM 60 MARKETING AND MANAGING TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS Several managers and operators detail their strategies to attract and best serve the growing international student population in the United States. By Scott Reid I Increasingly students from all over the world are traveling to the United States to receive an edu- cation they can't receive in their home country, whether it is for one semester, one year, or their entire college career. Off-campus operators are presented with several challenges when it comes to attracting these eager, and often wealthy, students to live in their properties and serve them compe- tently and with aplomb. As several managers told Student Housing Business, there are two things that interna- tional students seek when selecting a property more than anything else: proximity or ease to campus and high-speed Internet. pre-reqS According to Alison Hrabe, director of portfolio marketing with Trinitas Ventures, international students are concerned with the integrity and business ethics of the manage- ment company. "Because this is a new experi- ence for them, they want to be sure that they are not being taken advantage of," she says. "At Trinitas, we do everything we can to help ease their minds. One of the main things we've witnessed many of our international students requiring is a close proximity to cam- pus. Regardless of our property's proximity to campus, we offer shuttles and late night shuttles on the weekend at each one of our properties for our students' safety and to also allow them options when living at a Trinitas- managed property." Hrabe says that in her experience, price and square footage are often not as big of a concern as the students' units being fully fur- nished, so Trinitas' properties offer that as an amenity to all students. All-inclusive utilities and online leasing are other services Trinitas offers at several of their properties. "At properties where we don't offer all-inclusive utilities — at some of our properties, electricity is not included — we assist students with setting up their utilities, walk them through the maintenance process and assist with setting them up on Student housing units that come fully furnished allow international students to arrive in the United States with only their luggage and have a very comfortable experience.