{"id":143271,"date":"2022-08-25T11:14:36","date_gmt":"2022-08-25T09:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=143271"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:24","slug":"scores-of-students-in-rotterdam-hostels-i-have-to-pay-over-a-thousand-euros-for-accommodation-but-i-dont-have-any-other-choice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/08\/25\/scores-of-students-in-rotterdam-hostels-i-have-to-pay-over-a-thousand-euros-for-accommodation-but-i-dont-have-any-other-choice\/","title":{"rendered":"Scores of students in Rotterdam hostels: ‘I have to pay over a thousand euros for accommodation, but I don’t have any other choice’"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the lounges of Rotterdam hostels this week, you won’t find any stressed-out international students behind laptops, desperately searching for a room. Unlike previous years, the situation seems under control this year. \u201cIt was sheer luck that I can move into my new room tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Students Han (left) and Sushumna in the lounge of CityHub hostel <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFeba Sukmana<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Student Sushumna, first-year bachelor Management of International Social Challenges (MISOC), is sitting in the lounge of the CityHub hostel on the Witte de Withstraat. An IKEA bag which she uses for her groceries lies on the yellow chair next to her. She arrived in Rotterdam on 8 August and spent two weeks in this hostel. \u201cI came very early on purpose so that I could look for a room in peace and quiet,\u201d she recounts. This was difficult to do from her home country of India. \u201cI was also afraid of being scammed, because you read about that kind of thing everywhere.\u201d She found a room through Kamernet and on Monday, she moved into her new room in Dordtselaan.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I don\u2019t have any other choice, I have to pay over a thousand euros in total for the hostel\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Sitting next to Sushuma is Han, also a first-year MISOC. She will be staying at CityHub for a little longer. The Vietnamese student found a room in Kralingen via HousingAnywhere, but her rental contract starts on 1 September. The accommodation costs of 69 euros per night are a drain on her budget. \u201cI arrived on 14 August for Eurekaweek, so I have to pay over a thousand euros in total for the hostel. But I don\u2019t have any other choice. I\u2019m already happy that I managed to get a room,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Fewer long-stays<\/h2>

Fewer and fewer hostels are offering long-stay rates, according to a survey by EM. CityHub still has a monthly rate, but StayOkay and KingKong have scrapped this. \u201cDuring Eurekaweek, students could still stay with us for a week, but now we are only offering shorter periods,\u201d says an employee of StayOkay. KingKong does the same, the maximum stay there is one week. Manager Bart den Uijl: \u201cNow that everything is back to normal, we\u2019re more geared towards tourism. It\u2019s more lucrative to sell single days than a long stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Stefano enjoys a sunny afternoon on the outdoor terrace of KingKong before he heads to his new room.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFeba Sukmana<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

The Italian Stefano is planning to follow the Global History and International Relations master\u2019s degree. He is staying at KingKong and celebrating his success on the outdoor terrace on Tuesday. \u201cI just got confirmation that I get a room on the Pleinweg,\u201d he says happily. He arrived in Rotterdam last Sunday for a viewing appointment on Monday. \u201cI had posted on all kinds of Facebook groups that I was looking for a room. The owner of this apartment approached me because he was looking for a flatmate. It is a small room, but it is better than nothing,\u201d he says. He had reservations at KingKong until Wednesday, but has already packed his suitcase. \u201cI took a risk just to come here without a plan,\u201d he goes on to say. \u201cBut it\u2019s sheer luck that I can move into my new room tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moving to a hotel<\/h2>

The skating rink at the Toepad sports complex is empty this week, states Ruben van Goor from The Sleeping Agency. \u201cIt won\u2019t be very busy next week either. So far, we\u2019ve had ten reservations.\u201d Meanwhile, the receptionist at the ROOM hostel still sees students walking around. \u201cOf course, we don\u2019t have an exact overview of how many students are here, because we don\u2019t ask them that when making reservations, but there are at least ten,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Booking a room together is a brilliant idea. It\u2019s fun and a stone\u2019s throw from the university\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Student Madeleine (Communication and Media) lugs her suitcase from ROOM to the Vasteland tram stop. She came to Rotterdam from Nuremberg, Germany, ten days ago for the Eurekaweek, even though she did not have a room yet. \u201cThe plan was that after Eurekaweek. I would temporarily stay with a cousin in Amsterdam until I found a room,\u201d she explains. But during the introduction week, one of her fellow group members came up with the idea to book a hotel room together at the Novotel Brainpark. \u201cI thought it was a brilliant idea. It\u2019s fun and a stone\u2019s throw from the university,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd it is just as expensive.\u201d For a three-bed room, they pay around forty euros per night per person. At ROOM, she paid 38 euros a night for a dorm she shared with fourteen people. \u201cAt least at Novotel, I can take a shower and walk around in my bathrobe,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

Madeleine can stay at Novotel until 6 September. What if she still can\u2019t find a room after that? \u201cThen I\u2019ll have to move to Amsterdam after all,\u201d she says with a sigh. \u201cI do hope it doesn\u2019t come to that. I really don\u2019t feel like commuting and I like it so much here in Rotterdam.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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