Skip pricey hotels for dorm-room deals

If you plan to get away this summer and want a cheap place to stay, consider a college. During vacation times, hundreds of colleges in the US rent empty dorm rooms for $15 to $65 per night.

While generally smaller than a hotel room, dorm rooms are private, clean, and secure. The rooms may be further away from the tourist attractions than hotels, but they can be in interesting neighborhoods with bookstores, coffee shops, and affordable restaurants.

Near pricey San Francisco, for example, a single room at the University of California, Berkeley, goes for $50 a night from June 1 through Aug. 15, double rooms for $64. In Washington, George Washington University's "Summer in the City" program offers rooms from the end of May through mid-August. In past summers, doubles have ranged from $25 to $30 per night.

Such deals are not just limited to the US. In Ireland, the Irish University Accommodation Consortium offers rooms at nine campuses throughout Ireland. South of the equator (in New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, for example), student accommodations are available during summer breaks, December through February.

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