On those hotel reservations - if you find a place you like, find out how far in advance they open reservations and get those dates on your calendar.
You may find it useful for things like parents weekend, graduation, etc. I was SHOCKED to find that the one chain hotel in the town where DS went to college was fully booked within the first 2 hours after reservations opened for graduation weekend - one year in advance!! And I thought I was so clever being there on the day reservations opened…