Students moving out of their apartments and dorms at the end of the semester may not have to lift a finger.
LSU Campus Bellhops, a student-run moving company, offers “student muscles for moving day.” The business originated at Auburn University and has spread to schools throughout the SEC.
John Anthony, LSU Campus Bellhops manager and geology junior, said this is the company’s first year at the University. He said what separates Campus Bellhops from other moving companies is that the employees are students.
“We aren’t a typical company,” Anthony said. “We don’t wear weight belts or drive trucks. We’re simply student bellhops.”
According to the Campus Bellhops website, the service starts with students reserving a bellhop team. Anthony said bellhop teams consist of two members who are actively involved on campus and trustworthy students.
The company does not provide transportation. If customers want the bellhops to move them out and into a new residence, two separate reservations must be made.
Anthony said reservations must be made 24 hours in advance, and prices vary depending on the type of service.
Moves without furniture cost $100. Anthony said these are typically dorm moves where furniture is provided in-house.
“These typically consist of boxes of miscellaneous items, such as clothing, televisions, suitcases, bedding, mini-fridges, rugs and accessories,” Anthony said.
Moves involving furniture like bed frames, mattresses, dressers, shelving, couches, kitchen tables, washers, dryers and full-sized refrigerators, cost $150.
After the service is purchased, the customer gets an e-mail confirmation with facts about the hired bellhops.
On moving day, Anthony said the bellhop teams do all of the heavy lifting.
“We all know that move-in and move-out day is quite hectic,” Anthony said. “This way you won’t have to do a thing.”
With LSU Campus Bellhops trying to establish itself around the campus community, Anthony said the company wanted to spread the word about its services.
“We’ve been on a marketing blitz the last couple of weeks, and as of now we have one move scheduled,” Anthony said. “Student feedback has been good, and we expect to see an influx of moves coming in as the semester ends.”
In order to generate more buzz, Anthony said the company created a Facebook competition to provide a free move to one sorority house.
“We thought this would be a great way to get people talking about us,” Anthony said.
The competition ran for one week. Sororities earned one point for every “like” on the LSU Campus Bellhops Facebook page and two points for every share.
At the end of the competition on Friday, the Chi Omega sorority was awarded a free move out of their entire sorority house at the end of the semester.
Students say they like the idea of studs moving them out of their apartment, but they felt the service could be more inclusive.
Hillary Olivier, kinesiology senior, said she thought she would use the service until she learned the company didn’t provide transportation.
“I wouldn’t pay for that,” Olivier said. “I don’t think it’s worth it.”
Psychology senior Isabel Lee said if LSU Campus Bellhops invested in vehicles to transport her furniture, the service would be better.
 
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Contact Lauren Duhon at [email protected]