Roomie

A student-focused dorm swapping website that lets college students host or stay in other students’ dorms while discovering nearby campus events.

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Inspiration

College students are always on the move, traveling for hackathons, internships, concerts, and conferences, but rarely have the budget for hotels or Airbnbs. So, we thought, why not build a platform that helps students stay in other dorms for free?

Roomie lets students find a free place to stay by connecting them with hosts on campus. While visiting, they can also discover local events and explore what the city has to offer.

What it does

AI-Powered Search: Tell an AI agent what you’re looking for, whether it’s a quiet dorm near campus or a host with similar interests, and it will find matches for you. You can also search manually by keyword or filter to refine your results.

Dorm Crashing & Hosting: Students can list their dorms for short-term stays or find others to host them while traveling for hackathons, internships, or events.

Event Discovery: While browsing dorms, students can explore local campus events, filtered by category or surfaced through AI suggestions, and view event locations directly on Google Maps to make the most of their visit.

Direct Contact: Visitors can reach out to hosts through email to confirm stays and coordinate details easily.

Host Controls: Hosts can add, update, or delete their listings at any time, maintaining full control over their availability.

How we built it

We built Roomie using a mix of lightweight yet powerful tools:

Flask (Python) for backend routing, logic, and API handling.

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for a clean and responsive frontend.

Dedalus AI API to generate personalized dorm and event recommendations.

JSON storage for managing listings and host data without a heavy database setup.

Amazon APIs to surface nearby campus events and locations.

GitHub for real-time collaboration, commits, and merge management.

Challenges we ran into

Resolving merge conflicts and syncing versions while working simultaneously on multiple branches.

Debugging Flask routes and ensuring smooth communication between backend and frontend.

Managing limited API access and time constraints while integrating AI features.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Building a fully functional prototype of Roomie in under 36 hours.

Successfully integrating AI-powered recommendations for dorm listings and nearby events.

Designing a smooth, student-friendly interface that feels intuitive and accessible.

Turning a spontaneous idea into a real product that helps students travel more affordably.

What we learned

Manage teamwork and version control effectively during a fast-paced hackathon.

Balance front-end design, back-end logic, and prioritize user experience to create a cohesive product.

Communicate clearly and divide tasks efficiently to keep development on track.

What's next for Roomie

We’re excited to take Roomie to the next level by adding features that make it safer, smarter, and more community-driven:

AI Personality Matching (use AI to match guests and hosts based on compatibility, lifestyle, and preferences)

User Authentication & .edu Verification (ensure every user is a verified student for a safer, more trusted experience)

Booking & Review System (allow guests to securely reserve stays and leave feedback, building trust within the student community)

Real-Time Chat & Notifications (enable instant communication between hosts and guests to coordinate stays quickly and easily)

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