Do I have to reserve a block of hotel rooms?

Wow, I never heard of a hotel charging you for the rooms not used. BUT, if that is the case, then dont reserve a block. just put info about the hotel such as location, pricing, etc. DONT put it on your invite, tho....on a seperate piece of paper.

No, you don't have to. However, if you don't want people staying the same place as you and your FH I would at least indicate you want people to stay at a certain hotel. Nicely, of course. And naturally one nice way is reserving a block and just spread the word. Good Luck!

That is odd. I have no such stipulation on my block of rooms. There is a discounted rate and the rooms are released 1 month before the wedding.

List local hotels for sure.

That's fairly standard for conferences and such. It's odd to do that for weddings. The practice is called a performance clause and the shortfall is called attrition.

Try www.hotelplanner.com, you plug in your info and hotel sales offices in your area submit bids. Low effort, and you can check over the contracts to make sure there are no attrition fees.

I book blocks of rooms often for our riding group, and we have never had that issue. I would call around to see if you could find a hotel that does not do it.

We are marrying at a B&B as well. There are 29 rooms at the inn. We want all of our guests to stay there. It is part of the ambiance we are setting. The rooms are all booked by my guests, and I haven't even sent out the invites. Our innkeeper, called an inn within walking distance(to avoid drunk driving)and that inn is giving our guests the same rates. I have an insert in my invites with a list of that property and other higher end properties.

Good luck!

All of the hotels that we spoke with stated that they would simply release the rooms if not booked a month in advance and no charge to us. We did reserve a block and don't have to worry about paying if they dont get used.

We're in the same position, so we decided not to do a hotel block. On top of that, our hotel has a two-night minimum on weekends. Whoops!

Wow thanks ladies for all of your help! I will definitely look into other hotel options, and if it doesnt work out I'm just going to list hotels on the accomodations insert in the invite. Thanks brides you gals are the best!

If you set up a free wedding website on weddingwire, you can just write the web address on the insert or rsvp card. then on your site you can have a page for accommadations, where you can list all the info without having to worry about printing costs. they even have a cool app thingy where guests can search hotels/rates directly from your website

I would most certainly block rooms. Wedding season plays havoc and hotels sell out quickly. I'd rather be safe than sorry especially because a room block does not cost anything. There are some cases where a hotel may want to charge you for a room block, but you should only book a hotel that gives you a courtesy room block.

A courtesy room block is a way to block hotel rooms with no deposit. In this kind of room block, the hotel does not “block” any rooms for you. They simply agree to honor a discounted group rate for your wedding guests. Guests can still call and make reservations under a group code just like a traditional block.

Here is more information on the courtesy room block: http://grouptravel.org/wedding/what-is-a-courtesy-room-block-do-i-need-one-for-wedding-guests/#ixzz2hPeJIPui

We did not do a room block. Many people who live close will just drive there and back the same day. And for the out of town people, the majority are staying with family in the area. We have a list of accommodations on our website that includes links to 7 nearby hotels. Also, we are getting married on a Sunday and many people may come for an extended weekend, so we decided against it and to let them book on their own.