Cardboard celebs are helping Chester students to stay Covid-safe

Thousands of students are finding out their A-level results and which university they’ll be attending. Meanwhile, a top student accommodation company, with two properties in Chester, is drafting in some famous names to help its residents stay COVID-safe when they move in.

Student Roost, which runs 20,000 student beds across the UK, has come up with a quirky way of maintaining social distancing in its communal spaces ahead of the new academic year.

Instagram-friendly cardboard cut-outs will be helping residents to follow the national recommendations to stay 2m apart from non-flatmates.

The cardboard celebs have even been specially selected to suit the variety of social, study and fitness spaces within Student Roost’s 50+ properties across the UK:

• To close an unused treadmill in a fitness room, who doesn’t want The Rock, Serena Williams or David Beckham as a gym buddy?
• To mark out unused seats in a cinema, who better to sit next to than Oscar winner Emma Stone, Beyoncé or Tom Hardy?
• And who doesn’t want to get some writing tips by studying next to the likes of the multi-talented Idris Elba, Lady Gaga or P!nk?

The celebrity cut-outs might be fun, and perfect for those Instagram selfies or TikToks, but they are delivering a serious message about social distancing. They’re just one of the measures that Student Roost is taking to keep residents safe ahead of the 2020/21 academic year.

Other steps include:

• Deep cleaning of every room before new residents arrive
• Eight-step cleaning of all communal areas, including fogging
• Hand sanitiser stations around properties
• Wipe stations in games rooms, gyms and cinemas
• Contactless parcel collection
• Increased signage and restrictions on numbers of people allowed to use laundry rooms and other shared spaces
• New processes for arrivals, including pre-booking appointment slots
• Providing additional support for any residents who need to self-isolate
• Online viewings available on Instagram, WhatsApp and Facetime

Student Roost is also working with NSF, an independent public health and safety organisation, to help minimise COVID-19 risks and take appropriate preventive measures.

Nathan Goddard, CEO for Student Roost, said:

“These are difficult times and our priority throughout this pandemic has always been on keeping all our residents and team members safe.

“We’ve been taking the tough measures to increase cleaning and hygiene across all our properties. But we also need to make sure we can still deliver a fun experience for our residents that’s social, but socially distanced, because people go to university for more than just an education.

“We have some great social, fitness and study spaces across our properties. The celebrity cut-outs are making it easy for our residents to follow the local and national rules that are in place to protect everyone, while enabling us to safely reopen the spaces that they love.”

Adam Simmons, Regional Operations Manager, said:

“All our property teams are so excited for residents to ‘meet’ the likes of Ariana and The Rock, in what should be a helpful, but fun, reminder of social distancing.

“Along with other measures we’re taking, they’ll mean that our residents can safely enjoy our great spaces.”

Last year, Student Roost was rated number 1 accommodation provider by Student Crowd, based on reviews from residents themselves.

Student Roost runs two properties in Chester – The Towpath on Tower Wharf, and Tramways on Crewe Street.

The company has put in place a COVID-19 Booking Promise across all its properties across the UK for the 2020/21 academic year. Residents can cancel for no extra charge if their university delays its course start dates, or if they cannot travel to their university or take up their place.

This is on top of Student Roost’s existing policy to set termly rent payment dates after residents have received their student loans.