Over the summer, Bed Bath & Beyond contacted Belmont University’s Admissions about sponsoring showrooms.
Residence hall tours giving potential students an example of dorm rooms at Belmont are included in the tours given Monday through Friday between noon and 1:00 p.m., Preview Days and Be Belmont days. There is one showroom located in Patton Hall and one in Heron Hall.
The residents who live in these rooms receive a small room grant. In order to live there, they must be out of the room during tours, maintain a clean room and showcase some type of Bed Bath & Beyond merchandise visible to touring students, said Amanda Gill, admissions event coordinator.
Those who live in a showroom were chosen prior to the relationship with Bed Bath & Beyond.
“My roommate and I had a lot of questions, but we were very excited,” said Vanessa Hendel, freshman showroom resident.
Tour guides are not required to mention the sponsorship but are encouraged to be transparent about the relationship if asked, said Philip Heil, senior tour guide.
Bed Bath & Beyond was inspired to sponsor Belmont dorm rooms due to News Channel 5’s special focusing “on going to college for the first time, how to decorate a dorm room and special products Bed Bath & Beyond carries specifically for dorms,” said Gill.
Bed Bath & Beyond gave the residents living in the show dorms bedding options to choose from and provided the women with specific decorations coordinating with their choice, said Gill.
Bed Bath & Beyond’s team set everything up in the dorm using the provided decorations free of charge, said Hendel.
This is not the first year Belmont has had a partnership with Bed Bath & Beyond.
“We had actually partnered with them a few years back, and they wanted to reopen that relationship,” said Gill.
Bed Bath & Beyond wishes to continue the relationship next year, but Belmont “has to reevaluate next summer,” said Gill.
Article by Kendyl Turner, photos by Vanessa Hendel.