There is a housing crunch on the University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus.

And currently, with more students than dorms, many students are making the nearby Bayfront Hilton Hotel their home for now.

Currently, USF St. Petersburg has two housing options on campus - the University Student Center and Residence Hall One, which collectively accommodate about 550 students. The campus has an enrollment of about 6,700 students right now.

The university does have a plan to build additional housing to address its growth, which school officials, as well as students, say is a good problem to have.

"This year, the energy on campus is amazing," said USF St. Petersburg student Taylor Russell. "There’s so many people around, so many great interactions between new and old students."

A senior, Russell has watched the campus grow during her three-plus years at USF St. Petersburg. Russell lives in student housing, which 78 of her new classmates living in the hotel can't say.

"I’ve been to the Hilton because it’s so close," she said. "They’ve got a nice study area and from what I understand they’re open to the pool and everything like that, so the only issue may be the distance, but besides that, it’s great."

Dean of Students Jacob Diaz also says the hotel living has its perks.

"The access to room service, weekly linen changes, the hotel life if you will," Diaz said. "But it does cost a bit more relative to a standard room here on campus. It costs about $1,000 more."

Still, university officials are quick to explain the hotel living is not permanent. School officials are revising the university's master plan.

"It’s something we’re also having to work behind the scenes on diligently to make sure we’re still offering a high-quality experience for the students we do have," Diaz said. "So that way our experience doesn’t diminish just because we don’t have enough space."

USF officials say details on new housing won't be released until the Board of Regents approves the plan, but they do include additional dorms on campus.

In the meantime, the school is receiving a special room rate for student accommodations at the Hilton.

School officials said they have a goal to enroll 10,000 students during the next 10 years.