In the Northern Hemisphere, move-in is done, and students are settling in. Before the next booking cycle starts, here is what students participating in the GSL Index have told us about booking their accommodation, and what lessons accommodation teams might take into the next round.
Every September, the student accommodation sector is tested. Keys go out, room changeover windows can be narrow, lifts are over capacity, and welcome teams run on caffeine. Now that most students are settling in, it’s a good time to look at the start of the resident journey.
The GSL Index asks students to tell us in their own words what their booking experience was like and what they would change. In Q4 2025, there were thousands of comments; however, it is encouraging to note that many were positive. Students regularly described booking as quick, simple and stress-free. The frustrations they raised were specific, practical and mostly fixable, and many came up across both private and university-operated portfolios.
Show them the room they’re actually booking
The most common request was better visual information. Most students book without seeing the building, and many are booking from overseas. They want to know what they’re paying for, especially when they’re choosing between room grades.
All the pictures of the rooms were the same. Couldn’t tell the difference between premium rooms.
It did not show you a picture of your specific room. It did not explain what your view would be, which is important if you wanted to be on a main strip.
When providers do this well, it has a big effect. One student described what happened when they asked to see a room:
It was pretty easy and quick. When I wanted to see an actual room, they sent me a video of the place,and I liked that a lot. It made me feel important and cared for. That was when I got excited to come.
A short phone video costs almost nothing. For that student, it turned a transaction into the start of a relationship.
If there’s a rush, make it a fair and honest one
Where rooms are released in waves or through online queues, students described hours of waiting, site crashes, and availability that didn’t match reality.
Halls sold out fast, but still appeared as available online, which turned out to not be the case.
The queueing process is quite laughable each year since people are often waiting over 3-5 hours to pick.
I wish I could have known which rooms are actually available.
High demand is a good problem to have, but students notice how it’s handled. It helps to load-test booking platforms before release day, show live availability, and clearly explain how allocation works, whether that’s first-come, first-served, a ballot, or preference-based. None of this creates more rooms, but it makes the process feel fairer.
Don’t go quiet after the deposit
A recurring theme was the gap between paying and arriving. Students (and their parents) are making a large commitment, often from a distance, and silence can feel like a warning sign.
The application process was clear and straightforward. One small improvement could be more regular updates on the status of my application to keep students informed.
After signing the lease, communication was practically cut off.
One comment made a point operators may not have considered. When booking is very smooth, a student who is aware of rental scams can end up less confident, not more:
Actually, everything was very easy, which I like, but it was almost too easy, you know; I found it somehow weird because it was too easy. And there are many scams around. So I might have loved to have a bit more confirmation or something like that because it was almost too good to be true.
A clear confirmation email, a named contact, and a simple timeline of what happens next and when can cover the pre-arrival months at little cost.
Make the money easy to follow
Students didn’t generally object to the price itself. They wanted to understand it early, including what they would pay, when, and in what instalments.
I would make it so you know the price breakdown while you are looking at the rooms, instead of showing weekly when you pay a big chunk at a time.
The application process was fine, but once your offer is accepted, it immediately gives you a deadline for the deposit, which may be stressful for students with low funds at the time.
Showing instalment amounts next to weekly rates, and allowing a little flexibility on deposit deadlines, could remove a lot of anxiety.
Guarantors remain a sticking point for international students
International students often said guarantor requirements were confusing or impossible to meet.
As an international student, I would have liked a bit more information regarding payment, i.e. needing to pay ahead of time and what a UK guarantor is and does.
Most of the people in the Building are international students and first time comers, asking for a guarantor who is a citizen is sometime frustrating and discouraging.
The admin side can go wrong too:
Sometimes the guarantor’s sign-off email doesn’t come through, and there is no way to change or resend it without contacting someone.
Providers that explain the guarantor requirement in plain language, signpost alternatives such as guarantor services or upfront payment options, and let students resend requests themselves will remove a common point where bookings stall.
Giving students a say matters more than it might seem
Some of the most positive comments were about features that help students feel they had some say in where and who they would live with, while conversely many students expressed frustration at having little or no choice about who they live with:
I like the application process, as there is a way to choose whether you want to stay in most nights or go out most nights, which has allowed me to get flatmates that I get along with much better.
The university uses a wave system, which many students do not like. This process makes it difficult to choose who you would like to live with
They could add a system where you choose who you are in a flat with.
To be able to choose which hall to apply to.
These things are more than just small touches. A joint GSL/CUBO research report Closing the Gap: the experience of vulnerable students in student accommodation, found that lack of choice over flatmates, and room allocation practices generally had a noticeable negative impact on the accommodation experience of students – particularly those from minority and underrepresented groups, including students from ethnic minorities, students who are LGBTQI+, and students with a disability. Many wanted more say in who they live with, whether based on shared interests, stage of study, gender, sexuality or background.
There is a balance to strike, because students who find themselves the odd one out in an otherwise similar flat can feel isolated. But the direction is clear. Choice doesn’t have to mean a free-for-all. Lifestyle questions, an option to request a friend, a ranked list of preferred halls, stage-of-study or postgraduate-only flats, or the chance to decline an unsuitable offer all give students some agency without making allocation unmanageable. For providers, investing in better allocation is one of the most direct ways to lift resident satisfaction, and it starts at the point of booking.
Looking ahead
None of this calls for a new booking platform. Most of what students asked for is clarity – representative images, genuine availability, visible pricing, and steady contact between booking and arrival. The booking experience is a student’s first impression of their home for the year, and it’s worth reviewing it now before the next cycle begins.
