Cost Saving Tips for Resbus

[Guest]

Accommodation Services say they are losing £550,000 a year - well it's partly their own fault and their business model is all wrong!

It amazes me that they need so many damn administrative staff sitting aimlessly in Hall offices. Take New Hall for example - Mananger, Deputy Managers, Duty Managers, Food and Berverage Manager, Senior Clerical Officers, Clerical Officers......it goes on and on! Is it necessary to employ so many cleaners? I don't think anyone would mind if cleaning was cut from five days to three days - after all, all they do daily is empty bins, and hoover once a week.

So....rather than increase rents, I think resbus need to look at their business model and try and cut costs!

[just a suggestion]

agreed. I found it damn annoying in 1st year having my bin emptied all the time.

Personally i think they should put hamilton and macintosh out on a long term lease to hotel people and turn sallies and john burnet into offices/lecture theatre/etc. These halls literally burn money. They would then have an income stream which they could borrow against to construct some space age halls on the edge of town. the uni would then be able to accomodate more people.

[SiouxieSioux]

My cleaner dosn't even clean properly.

[hr] £3000! that's more than that last hooker I hired!

[LeopardSkinQueen]

[s]Unregisted User just a suggestion wrote on 22:43, 8th Feb 2004:
agreed. I found it damn annoying in 1st year having my bin emptied all the time.

Personally i think they should put hamilton and macintosh out on a long term lease to hotel people and turn sallies and john burnet into offices/lecture theatre/etc. These halls literally burn money. They would then have an income stream which they could borrow against to construct some space age halls on the edge of town. the uni would then be able to accomodate more people.


What a stupid idea. Where are people who would have been in these halls stay while the 'space age' halls are being built?

And I'm sure a lot of people would rather live in older, cenral halls. I know I would. It's part of the whole St Andrews atmosphere, and one of the best things about it, that the accomodation is older, unique buildings.

[hr]
[s]"When I was seven, I used to eat ants."

Dominic Monaghan, 'The Two Towers:Extended Edition' cast commentary

[/s]

[Midget]

Yeah nothing beats living in a nice old hall in town. Architecture has been going down since the mid twentieth century if not earlier, they just can't seem to build like the victorians could.

Turn John Burnet into offices, the very thought of it, what an idea!

[Cain]

[s]Unregisted User just a suggestion wrote on 22:43, 8th Feb 2004: a suggestion


i'm think of a word that starts with I and ends in -rony.

i hope to god that that is right.

[hr]
I hold an element of surprise

[munchingfoo]

The nice older halls are cool if you can afford them but if you can't you're kinda screwed. Fife park and albany park already make a 100% profit and if you have ever seen the state of these building it is conclusive proof that most of this money goes towards subsidising the rent sin the old halls. Regs, sallies and uni hall all make losses and the people who can afford to live their are the ones who pay for it. Not fair, but the world isn't fair.

[hr]Management: The art of writing like you know what you're talking about and making others believe it.

(munchingfoo comprehensive dictionary)

http://campushook.com/?pg=profile&u=7069

[LeopardSkinQueen]

[s]munchingfoo wrote on 12:46, 9th Feb 2004:
The nice older halls are cool if you can afford them but if you can't you're kinda screwed.



However, the new halls aren't exactly cheap either. DRA is extortionate.

[hr]
[s]"When I was seven, I used to eat ants."

Dominic Monaghan, 'The Two Towers:Extended Edition' cast commentary

[/s]

[Mr Tickle]

Well the suggestion that most people dont want cleaners or want reduced cleaning might reduce proposed increases, so why not vote on if you think the number of cleaners is excessive.

[hr]Are you tickly? if you are, be afraid, be very afraid.

[PurelySynthetic]

[s]LeopardSkinQueen wrote on 13:04, 9th Feb 2004:

However, the new halls aren't exactly cheap either. DRA is extortionate.





New hall is much worse quality than DRA tho and theyre gonna make them the same price!

[Pussycat]

I don't think it's the fact that the rooms are cleaned too often, more the fact that the cleaners do spend most of their time chatting and having coffee. I'm fairly sure that cleaning a bathroom, all be it one with four showers and 5 toilets, should not take nearly 2 hours. Nor does a square foot of carpet need hoovered for 5 minutes.

I used to think it was just because I always happened to see the cleaners when they were having a break but it seems to be generally known that the cleaners do not need a whole morning, even half a morning, to complete their work. Now given the number of cleaners employed by many of the halls and the fact that each persons room is only cleaned once a week on top of all the wasted time this must be a huge drain on all the residences finances.

As for uni hall I doubt it runs at a loss when Summer earnings are taken into account due to the number of conferences and courses that it plays host to as well as the fact that even currently it is charging far more than it is worth in terms of standards and available amenities (or lack of).

[Prophet Tenebrae]

DRA is actually a fantastic part of RESBUS's cost cutting drive. You see instead of using expensive materials like concrete or cement, they used papermache!

"But won't that break?" I hear you cry, no need to worry, industrial strength laminate will keep it together for 2 maybe 3 years!

[LeopardSkinQueen]

[s]PurelySynthetic wrote on 19:00, 9th Feb 2004:

New hall is much worse quality than DRA tho and theyre gonna make them the same price!


All I was trying to point out is that the newer halls are more expensive, so this idea of selling off the old ones and replacing them will not help the students.

[hr]
[s]"When I was seven, I used to eat ants."

Dominic Monaghan, 'The Two Towers:Extended Edition' cast commentary

[/s]

[Tweedle-Dee]

Look at http://escapetotranquility.com to see how much the University is charging for conferences etc. Looking at that, I cannot believe that they are making a loss, and would have to say that it would seem like slightly more care ought to be taken in Residence Management (being careful with what he's saying) if they turned a profit in 2001-2 into a loss, as well as pissing up accomodation this year, squeezing people into any odd corner they could.

As mentioned above, the new halls have maximum about a third of the lifespan of Uni Hall, Regs, Chattan etc., so not point blaming it on them. The large capital investment has been in doing up or rebuilding new places.

[Enckleboy]

I agree, my cleaner spends most of the time chatting, locking and unlocking her store cupboard and appears to wash the skirting board every day! Surely that is not necessary? Even so there are permament notices up in Melville stating staff shortages, despite nearly every where you turn there being a cleaner!

Also, if Sallie's and hamilton run at such a loss then shouldn't their residents have to pay more and not the residents of halls already making a substantial profit such as Melville...?