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Erin
Just Said Yes October 2021

Hotel Blocks- 2021- Markups due to Covid?

Erin, on November 15, 2020 at 2:40 PM Posted in Planning 0 3
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Hi there! I'm wondering if folks have any advice for planning hotel blocks during COVID. My fiancee and I are getting married Oct 16, 2021 in Newport, RI. I'm from Rhode Island, so many family and friends are local. However, my other half is from the UK. We're looking to book a hotel block for our out of town guests.


We've started looking for hotel blocks and put out a call for bids on a planning website. However, all bids we're getting are $50-$80 more per night than what I would expect for the area given we're out of high season in Newport. The same hotels were booking mid-Oct 2020 for $100 or more less than what they're asking for in mid-Oct 2021. We see this pattern too for hotels far from downtown Newport, including off the island. We're wondering if this the hotels looking to get as much as they can, hoping demand will increase by next year? Considering the guests will be traveling so far, we're looking to offer them an economical hotel option.


We're debating the cost/benefit of waiting a bit or not booking a block at all. Has anyone else noticed a similar pattern this year? And could you offer some advice on the risks/ benefits of waiting?

3 Comments

Latest activity by Judith, on November 15, 2020 at 3:05 PM
  • Eri
    Super October 2020
    Eri ·
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    I'm not sure what planning website you're using to get bids, but I would personally call/contact the hotels individually to see what rates they'll give you. Check that against what the going rate is for next year on their website.

    The prices you're seeing might just be in line with pre-COVID costs; a lot of hotels had to drastically cut their prices this year. I don't think it's a markup so much as it is trying to get back to "normal," though it certainly could be.

    I booked my hotel block a year out, which provided a discounted rate to our guests, but with everything that happened, it ended up being $20 cheaper to book outside of our block.

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  • J
    Master 0000
    Judith ·
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    Unpredictable. Some will figure, folks are so anxious to break out ,that they will use more money for their first ventures out, especially if they are folks who stayed employed, and built up some leisure money, from rarely getting spent. The flip side is no bookings will come, and they will do last minute deals to stimulate the market, eye catching reduction of fees. Just keep checking in. After 911 fares seemed high, and planes were running half empty. Suddenly , there were cheap fares even did where it meant adding flights, they were trying to get volume of


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  • J
    Master 0000
    Judith ·
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    Steady business and new routes. In 3months, with various people, I went to Denmark and Sweden. Separate trip to Iceland and Ireland. Separate to Portugal and Canary islands. Looked at fares then, they were back up, deals were done. I think now, they know sale volume business would put too many on board, so flying half full with higher fares is the thing to do.
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