COMPUTERIZED HOSTEL ALLOCATION SYSTEM

Abstract

Hostels provide budget oriented, sociable accommodation where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed, in a dormitory and share a bathroom, lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex, although private rooms may also be available. Hostels are generally cheaper for both the operator and the occupants; many hostels have long-term residents whom they employ as desk clerks or housekeeping staff in exchange for free accommodation.
In a few countries, such as the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, India, Nigeria and Australia, the word hostel sometimes also refers to establishments providing longer-term accommodation (often to specific classes of clientele such as nurses, students, drug addicts, court defendants on bail) where the hostels are sometimes run by Housing Associations and charities. In the rest of the world, the word hostel refers only to properties offering shared accommodation to travellers, students or backpackers.
In this research work “Computerized hostel allocation system”, a system will be design to manage a database for allocating hostel to students. The system designed will keep track of all the available rooms, their occupants and fund generated from hostel fee. The new system will be implemented using Visual basic 6.0 and access database.

Chapter One
Introduction

• • Background of the Study

In 1912, in Altena Castle in Germany, Richard Schirrmann created the first permanent Jugendherberge or “Youth Hostel”. These first Youth Hostels were an exponent of the ideology of the German Youth Movement to let poor city youngsters breathe fresh air outdoors. The youths were supposed to manage the hostel themselves as much as possible, doing chores to keep the costs down and build character as well as being physically active outdoors. Because of this, many Youth Hostels closed during the middle part of the day. Very few hostels still require chores beyond washing up after self-catered meals or have a “lockout”.
There are several differences between hostels and hotels, including:

• Hostels tend to be budget-oriented; rates are considerably lower, and many hostels have programs to share books, DVDs and other items.
• For those who prefer an informal environment, hostels do not usually have the same level of formality as hotels.
• For those who prefer to socialize with their fellow guests, hostels usually have more common areas and opportunities to socialize. The dormitory aspect of hostels also increases the social factor

Hostels are generally self-catering. There is less privacy in a hostel than in a hotel. Sharing sleeping accommodation in a dormitory is very different from staying in a private room in a hotel or bed and breakfast, and might not be comfortable for those requiring more privacy. The lessened privacy is also an advantage in some ways, because it encourages more social interaction between guests.
Theft can be a problem, since guests may share a common living space, but this can be avoided by securing guests’ belongings. Most hostels offer some sort of system for safely storing valuables, and an increasing number of hostels offer private lockers.
Noise can make sleeping difficult on occasions, whether from snoring, sexual activity, someone either returning late or leaving early or the proximity of so many people. This can be mitigated by carrying earplugs.

1.2     Statement of the Problem
The growing number of students in higher institutions all over the world has posed a lot of accommodation problem on the part of students and school management. Students at the beginning of each session waste half of the semester looking for accommodation. The few hostels that exist in the universities are not properly managed. Infrastructural decay, dirty environment and lack of basic amenities are some of the numerous problems encountered almost in every hostel at the university. Statistics of the number of rooms required to match the growing number of students are far fetched. Most often, students pay for hostel fee and end up not getting one due to lack of bed space. Hostel administrators can not give accurate information of the occupancy of a particular room. This and many more forms the statement of the problem that necessitated for this research work.