LivAway Suites opened its first Texas location Feb. 17 at 1550 River Road, offering extended stay lodging in San Marcos.
LivAway Suites is marketed as an economy extended-stay brand. The suites do not require leasing contracts or income verification and rooms can be rented on nightly, weekly and monthly bases.
LivAway Suites Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Dailey, said the company selected San Marcos because of its growing population and large university presence. According to Dailey, the hotel aims to serve more than just students caught between leases, but also professors, visiting student families and regular tourists.
“We like to align ourselves next to big universities like [Texas State] because there’s all kinds of folks facing different situations … there may be traveling professors or family members coming to visit their student for graduation or sporting events,” Dailey said.
Current pricing averages out to $1,846 per month; however, rates are subject to change depending on availability and time of year. LivAway currently has a higher price point compared to other off-campus housing options in San Marcos.
Off-campus student apartment costs vary across the city. Villagio Apartments list monthly rates between $509 and $649. Mid-range options such as The Lyndon run from $850 to $1,550. Higher-end properties, including Aspire San Marcos, can exceed $1,800 per month depending on floor plans and lease terms.
Texas State’s Department of Housing and Residential Life (DHRL) announced on Nov. 5, 2025, that Bobcat Village will no longer be available to upperclassmen beginning in fall 2026. This change by DHRL means upperclassmen currently living at Bobcat Village will need to find alternative housing by either reentering the housing lottery or moving into an off-campus property.
Marisol Recinas, a psychology sophomore living at Bobcat Village, said she and other residents were devastated after learning the complex will transition to freshman-only housing.
Recinas said she already signed a lease to share an apartment with her friend this summer, but shefaces a gap between moving out of Bobcat Village and the start date of her new lease. Recinas said she has the option of returning to her hometown temporarily, but many students do not have that opportunity and are left either unhoused or scrambling to find short-term housing solutions.
“I know a lot of people can’t just go home [after moving out]. I only live like five hours away from here, but I understand why people don’t want to go back [to their hometown],” Recinas said.
Executive Director of DHRL Kate Gannon-Cullinan said DHRL does not typically promote hotel-style properties on its off-campus housing marketplace, as it’s intended for traditional apartment listings. But that doesn’t mean LivAway is off limits to students.
“Certainly, if students wanted to explore an extended stay type of venue for a housing option, that is up to them and could be a great option depending on their circumstance,” Gannon-Cullinan wrote in an email to The Star.
The university currently maintains a partnership with Holiday Inn to address overflowing housing needs. In 2022, 2023 and 2024, incoming freshmen and resident assistants were placed at the hotel when dorm space was limited. Gannon-Cullinan said the university is not seeking new vendor partnerships at this time, but did not dismiss the idea of a future partnership.
Dailey said LivAway is open to working with the university and could potentially offer student and faculty discounts, depending on availability and time of year.
The company’s sales team plans to reach out to Texas State officials, according to Dailey.
