1.

3 Literature review to focus on gap analysis:

Only about 10% of Zimbabwean higher and tertiary education students live in campus
accommodation, Professor Amon Murwira, the minister of higher and tertiary education, science
and technology development, said in 2019. While most on-campus beds are reserved for first
year students, the upper class students are forced to reside among the local communities.
Inadequacy of students housing occurs globally, and it leads students to live off-campus instead
(Muslim et al. 2012).For University of New Mexico and the University of Nevada in Las Vegas,
the percentage of students living on-campus is less than 10% (Khozaei et al. 2012).Thus, the
inability of universities to provide student accommodation may result in students opting for
housing off-campus. According to Thuraiya Mohd and Norhayati Baharun ,they conducted a
research aims to examine off-campus student housing preferences associated to those studies in
public or private universities. Case study has been carried out in Selangor involving selected
public and private universities. There are 735 questionnaires being distributed among students in
both public and private universities. Data gathered are analyzed using Chi-square test. There are
five aspects of housing preferences were considered in this research namely, aspect of location,
and type of house and cost of rental, housing quality, housing accommodation and housing
environment. Findings from this research are essential to act as benchmark to related parties
especially in housing sector. However, off campus accommodation finder system will make sure
that the housing preferences of students should be implemented. Meanwhile, university of
Zimbabwe, have developed emhare which contains the Student Residential and Logistical
Services unit which provides off campus housing information to students looking for a place to
live near campus which helps the on and off campus students to find accommodation .The
emhare off-campus accommodation section contains the list contact details of the residence
landlords. There are several disadvantages of the off-campus accommodation finder system
offered by the University of Zimbabwe.

Firstly, the emhare off-campus finder system is limited to only first-year and final-year students,
leaving out a significant proportion of the student population who may require off-campus
accommodation. This limitation may cause undue pressure on the university's limited on-campus
housing options, leading to overcrowding and a sub-optimal living experience for students.
Secondly, the system is only available within a limited timeframe, leaving some students with no
option but to find their own accommodation outside of the university's system. This may lead to
a disjointed and less effective process of finding suitable accommodation for students.
Additionally, the system is dependent on the appearance of an accommodation window on the
student's Emhare platform, which may not always be reliable or predictable. This may cause
confusion and uncertainty among students who are trying to find off-campus accommodation.
Furthermore, the system may not always provide students with a wide range of options for off-
campus accommodation, limiting their ability to find a suitable and affordable living space. In
summary, while the University of Zimbabwe's off-campus accommodation finder system may
offer some advantages, it is limited in scope, availability and range of options. This may make it
challenging for many students to find suitable off-campus accommodation, leading to sub-
optimal living experiences and reduced academic performance. On the other hand, in countries
such as Canada and the United Kingdom (UK), their local authorities have cooperated with
universities and local government to provide the students with students’ lounges, namely PBSA
(Purpose Built Student Accommodation) in Canada and House of Multiple Occupations (HMOs)
in the UK. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, the development of off-campus student housing has not been
sought in partnership among developers, universities and the local government (Khozaei et
al.2012). For off campus accommodation at university of Zimbabwe, students end up have to
searching for residence manually, they move from street to street and house to house asking if
there are any available rooms. Many students lack information on the directions or contact
details of places where residence can be found. In addition, it is difficult to compare each
accommodation available in terms of pricing and quality as the information is hard to attain.
However, the Online Student Accommodation Finder System intends to solve the difficulty
students have in searching, comparing, finding, reserving and easily accessing accommodation
off campus by providing proper communication channels between landlords and tenants, security
concerns, and transparency in rental agreements pose additional problems.

One example of a feature that is often considered essential for accommodation finder apps is
local language support. Many travelers may prefer to search for accommodations and
communicate with hosts in their preferred language. A study conducted by Booking.com found
that 67% of travelers would be more likely to book accommodations if the information was
available in their language (Booking.com, 2018). However, some accommodation finder apps
may not offer this feature, which could be a disadvantage in attracting international users.
Another feature that could be missing from some accommodation finder apps is user-generated
content. User-generated content, such as photos and reviews, can provide valuable social proof
for potential customers. A study by Trip Advisor found that 83% of travelers say reviews are
important in their decision-making process when booking a hotel (Trip Advisor, 2018).
However, some accommodation finder apps may not allow users to share their experiences and
provide this social proof. Accessibility features, such as voice commands and screen readers, can
make the app more accessible to users with disabilities. However, some accommodation finder
apps may not have these features, which could limit the app's accessibility to users who require
them. According to the World Health Organization, over 1 billion people worldwide have a
disability (WHO, 2022), and it is important to ensure that accommodation finder apps are
accessible to all users.