Parents and alumni might be left out in the cornfields after attending the festivities of NIU’s Homecoming unless they have already made reservations for DeKalb-area hotels and motels.

Many hotels have been booked for months and some as far in advance as last year. Alumni should make reservations “at least six months in advance,” said a Holiday Inn reservation clerk. “Most people will reserve rooms for next year before they leave,” she said.

Ruby Brawington from DeKalb’s Motel 6 said the motel always “runs full on the weekends, and Homecoming is no exception.”

The Stratford Inn in Sycamore was booked about two months before Homecoming this year, said Marcynda Knapp, a representative for the hotel. Most of the people registered are alumni, she said.

A spokeswoman for the DeKalb Motel said the motel did not accept reservations for Homecoming guests this year because out-of-state workers have reserved the motel.

At the Georgetown Motel a desk clerk said the motel is booked solid, and alumni should have made reservations for Homecoming weekend no later than July. “We get filled up early because a lot of people make reservations a year in advance.”

To help alleviate the problems that may occur with Homecoming rowdiness, The Holiday Inn does not allow parties in the rooms. “A lot of private rooms get trashed,” the reservation clerk said. However, special meeting rooms are available for groups who want to party.

“Homecoming weekend is very rowdy—especially with the students drinking—and the police get called often,” she said.

Despite the party atmosphere during Homecoming weekend, most hotels do not have any major problems.

There is always “rough stuff during Homecoming, but no major problems occur,” Brawington said.

The clerk from Georgetown Motel said the number of complaints does not change that much because of Homecoming.

Employees at the Golden Harvest Motel would make no comment this year on the Homecoming situation. In past years the Golden Harvest has reportedly refused to accept reservations for Homecoming weekend.