HSA to Make Student Hotel Reservations

The Harvard Student Agencies, Inc., has accepted an offer by the Sheraton Hotels for a reservations concession, Dustin M. Burke '52, Director of Student Employment announced yesterday.

The concession will make reservations in any of the Sheraton Hotels at a discount for college students and faculty, retaining a ten per cent fee. Burke estimated that it will pay about ten per cent of its income to the H.S.A.

Burke added that if the idea had originated with a student instead of the hotel chain, the concession could have been independent.

"But since the offer came to us from the Sheraton Hotels, the reservation agency will definitely be in the H.S.A.," he stated.

Ready for Business

The new agency is now ready to take reservations, Burke said, although it has not yet settled final administrative details. The H.S.A. must: collect information to determine the amount of business the agency can expect to handle; select one of three student candidates to run the concession; and arrange the working schedule and mechanics for handling incoming calls. An advertising campaign is also being planned.

Burke also expressed the hope that the concession will be able to make reservations in hotels affiliated with the Sheraton chain, and eventually to include other hotels.

Security Within H.S.A.

He said that there was no reason why a student with an original idea for making money must work through the H.S.A. but felt that the student businessman within the H.S.A. would have the gratification of passing on his work, besides receiving advice and security. Once within the H.S.A., Burke asserted, the continuity of a successful business is assured.

The H.S.A. can also insure the development of a business to its fullest extent if its potential exceeds the work an independent student would be willing to give, Burke stated. He felt that the increase in student businesses which these factors provide will become more important as college tuitions rise and the need for student jobs increases.