Choose your bedroom at the click of a button

15th February 2016

Students applying for University accommodation can now select the exact room and residence they will live in, thanks to Northumbria’s new real-time accommodation system.

Applications for accommodation at Northumbria University are being revolutionised with the introduction of a brand new room booking system, which lets students shape and personalise their Northumbria experience from the very beginning.

Gone are the days when an applicant had to wait to receive their accommodation offer and hope they would be given their preferred choice of residence. The new system allows students to decide where exactly they want to live by choosing their building, floor and flat, and even their exact room.

Applicants can also view the flat’s occupancy to get a better idea about their future flatmates, finding out whether they are male or female, postgraduate or undergraduate and if they are UK or overseas students.

Alastair Reekie, Head of Student Accommodation, said: “As part of our ongoing commitment to improving the student experience we wanted to offer our prospective residents something totally new. We are all used to selecting our seats on a plane and tickets for a concert so thought why should choosing student accommodation be any different?

“Living in halls is a key part of the Northumbria experience and we want our students to be excited about their new homes before they arrive.

“Our new system allows them to picture exactly where they will be living from the point of application. This represents a major change for Northumbria’s accommodation provision and we look forward to receiving feedback from students using the system and hearing their suggestions of how we can make it even better.”

The new accommodation booking system launched in January and has been well received with students booking rooms across all of Northumbria’s residences. It is currently available to new students who will be starting their courses in September 2016.

Existing students who wish to apply for University Accommodation for 2016/17 will also be able to benefit from the system in the near future.

The entire booking process is completed online from start to finish. Once the applicant finds the perfect room for them at their convenience, they can proceed to sign the contract and pay their deposit online in the comfort of their home.

Northumbria University offers over 5,000 bedrooms to students, with a variety of accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets. The University has catered and self-catered options, with a choice of en-suite rooms or standard rooms with shared living facilities. The newest accommodation, Trinity Square, is in the heart of Gateshead’s new leisure and retail development, with excellent views of the Quayside and a multi-screen cinema, shops, cafes, bars and a supermarket all on site.

Northumbria was ranked 8^th in the UK for having the best quality of student life in the 2015 Lloyd’s Bank University Quality of Student Life Survey, which measures student satisfaction and living standards. The University was also named as having the lowest cost institution-owned or sponsored accommodation for students.

For more information visit www.northumbria.ac.uk/accommodation