Commencement at UCLA brings many people together on campus to celebrate the graduating class – but it doesn’t come without a cost.

While students and their families budget the cost of hospitality, travel and traditions ahead of graduation, businesses in Westwood may find opportunities during this time to boost profits.

For students with family living out of state or overseas, such as Anoushka Hem, a fourth-year theater student, the first cost comes from booking flights. The price of air travel largely depends on the departing location, but the average price for a one-way domestic flight in the United States is $397.63, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

To avoid high prices, families of graduating Bruins may book flights well in advance to get the best deals and prices for their travel itinerary. Hem said her family, who is traveling from Hong Kong to celebrate her graduation, began planning their trip half a year early at the end of 2024.

“It was … finding the balance between when did I feel ready to leave versus what felt financially feasible for how long the trip would be,” Hem said.

Hotels are also often booked early to ensure families have a place to stay, given high demand. At the Palihotel in Westwood Village, planning the logistics of commencement starts as soon as dates are determined by UCLA, said James Zito, the vice president of sales, marketing and revenue for Palisociety, which operates the hotel.

“Hotels are priced in what they call a ‘rolling 12,’ so commencement for next year will probably open up in around July the first for that next year,” Zito said. “Pricing changes day by day, and it also changes based on what percentage of occupancy we’re seeing at the hotel.”

The “rolling 12” metric is a budget tool that hotels can use to update and adjust their pricing for anticipated demands over a 12-month period, according to Finmark, a financial planning platform.

College towns experience hotel room shortages during graduation weekend, resulting in higher prices, according to Fox News. Some hotels are known to institute restrictive booking policies to make rooms nonrefundable for these weekends, according to Reuters.

Many hotels also require minimum night stays for high-demand weekends to avoid spikes around commencement weekend that prevent other travelers from booking, Zito said.

“You still have other people that are traveling for additional reasons aside from just commencement, Zito said. “And then they’re unable to reserve because they can’t stay through the weekend, so usually we’ll have a two-night minimum.”

As a result of these high prices and strict booking requirements, some parents have turned to secondary markets such as Airbnbs, which offer lower costs and more flexibility, according to Reuters.

After securing flights and accommodations, students must also factor in the expenses of purchasing tickets for their guests to attend their commencement ceremonies. According to UCLA Commencement, students can reserve up to four free guest tickets for the College commencement ceremonies being held Friday but cannot order any additional guest tickets. Additional guest tickets are only available for departmental graduation ceremonies for $20 a ticket.

Ahead of the ceremony, students may commemorate this special event with professional photographs, which poses an additional cost. On average, photographers charge $200 to $300 per hour for a graduation photo session, said Philena Nguyen, a student photographer and a second-year cognitive science and economics student at UCLA.

“I charge $150 for 45 minutes, and that’s usually good enough for one or two people,” Nguyen said. “Kind of depends what you want out of a shoot, and that’s how you book your time.”

Students are also responsible for purchasing the regalia worn at commencement or for graduation photos, since it is not included in tuition.

At the UCLA Store, the standard bachelor’s degree graduation regalia unit is $50 and includes a degree tassel, cap and gown, according to the store’s website. For graduating students attending commencement, they are required to wear the entire regalia unit with no option available through the school to rent or borrow items. Students may also choose to purchase a graduation sash, which is not required and comes at an additional cost of $50, according to the UCLA Store. Altogether, students could spend over $100 for their graduation attire.

Some Bruins may also choose to custom-embroider their satin sashes to include accomplishments during their college experience. Students can pay $20 through Bruin Custom Print to personalize their stole with custom text such as their major, minor or Greek letters if they were involved in Greek life. Custom embroidered designs, such as club logos, are available for $50, and personal patches, such as country flags, are available for $15. Customization on graduation sashes can take up to six weeks, according to the UCLA Store.

With the costs of personalized regalia, travel and guest tickets added up, some may choose to borrow regalia from friends because they don’t want to take on the cost, Hem said. However, Hem added that graduation is an important moment for her and her family, so she has adjusted her spending habits throughout the year to account for graduation costs.

“It was more important to me to be able to get to spend on the things that would be more meaningful, such as my personalized stole, or getting my grad photos done or having my own cap and gown that I can now take home,” she said.

As graduating students and their families incur costs ahead of the ceremony, businesses in the Village benefit from the influx of visitors during this weekend.

For the 2024 graduation weekend, UCLA Newsroom estimated that about 26,000 guests came to campus to participate in graduation ceremonies. Many of these guests may spend time in Westwood during their visit and enjoy graduation festivities with family, according to the UCLA Parent and Family Association.

Daisy Guerra, the general manager of Broxton Brewery and Public House, a brewery and restaurant in Westwood, said foot traffic is very important for many businesses in the neighborhood given its proximity to UCLA. She added that foot traffic can vary considerably, especially as it dies down when students are studying for exams.

Guerra also said the Broxton also has seen an increased demand for graduation parties on and around commencement weekend, bringing in many customers.

“We get a lot of bookings for graduation parties,” Guerra said. “For example, next month coming up, at least 15 parties specifically on graduation. We’re hosting big events for a lot of people and also small little events for small families who come through and want to celebrate the graduation.”

Despite the surrounding costs of graduation and ceremonies for many students, it still remains a positive experience for many, and the feelings are felt throughout the UCLA community.

“It’s such a positive experience,” Zito said. “They’ve worked so hard after so many years, and I think that generally it’s a positive buzz.”