Hotel,booking and blocks

From what i've seen, a lot of people put hotel info on websites or invites for people to book. it's informational but it doesn't necessarily mean out of town guests will choose that hotel anyway. i have heard that some hotels will give you a discount for reserving a block. i think you're usually able to adjust the actual number of rooms needed by x amount of time.

I’ll have an accommodations card with the information and then people can decide if they want to book or not. They get a lower rate for booking. If they don’t book by a certain date then they release the rooms for public sale. If all the rooms book then they’ll add more.

View Quoted Comment Okay thank you , so do you know if I were to reserve blocks would that secure rooms because my other concern is rooms selling out

View Quoted Comment Okay so this is if I reserve blocks or if I just put the info on the card? Thank you so much I really appreciate all the help

You have a few options..

1. You could send an accomodation card/ post on wedding website that you've reserved a block rooms at one hotel. When you go to block the rooms you provide an estimate. From there they tell you your guest must reserve their rooms before 1 week out. Whatever is not reserved goes back for the public to reserve. If you need more, hotels usually accommodate.

2. You could send an accommodations card/post on wedding website with a couple of hotel options ranging in price and your guest can make reservations wherever they'd like.

3. You could let guest figure it all out on their own.

You’ve got to contact whatever hotel you plan on reserving! My hotel (Marriott) 80% of the number of rooms I picked needed to be blocked or I owed the difference. Since most/all our guests are out of town (over an hour away to states away) I just started asking people if they wanted a room and blocked out that number. Sent the reservation link to those people early and they blocked early (before invites went out). Now invites go out soon and I know I have my 80% filled so I’m not worried about it. We did get a discount rate. It was time consuming, but worth it to me to know everyone has a place to stay and I don’t owe money.

Some hotels will let you block with no contract and you can add more rooms as your block gets filled. They should put you in touch with an event manager at the hotel.

View Quoted Comment Okay thank you so much this really helped !

View Quoted Comment Mine says something like we have reserved the following room blocks for our guests. Please reference the __ wedding and book by November 1 to receive a discount. I would just call a few hotels and see what their rates are, I think it’s a good thing to offer guests and if they decide to go their own way they can.

I wouldn't worry about it before you send save the dates, and I'd just post it on your website and include it with your invite. We called a couple hotels and went with the cheaper Hilton property. They offered to block as many rooms as we thought appropriate given our number of guests (I think we have around 12 rooms) and told us that if the block filled up that they'd simply add more rooms to it. The block and discounted rate disappears 30 days before the wedding, but we don't have to pay anything, even if no one decides to stay there.

You can out this information on your website and/or a details card included with your invitation.

A couple of things...

1) If you have a lot of out of town guests you should do a block. Not all hotels offer discounts, but a block will at least save rooms for your guests in case the hotel sells out.

2) Try to get a courtesy block so that you are not on the hook if not all rooms are reserved. Some hotels don't do this, but many will give 10 or so. If they fill up you can add onto the block.

3) Some will say do multiple blocks at different hotels at different price points. I don't think this is necessary. Find a nice, clean hotel at a mid-range price (appx $120 was our price per room) and block there. Your guests can decide if it's too much for them.

4) Check with the hotel to see if you can get your room for free if enough rooms in the block are filled. Also if you use a large chain, negotiate with them so that you get points too for every room booked in your block. We used a Marriott hotel and got lots of points from our guests. They still got theirs too!

5) If you can find a hotel that offers free shuttle service to and from your venue, that's a great bonus! And if the hotel has a bar you can have an after party there too.

What I did was secure a courtesy room block (we are not responsible for any unbooked rooms) with a nearby hotel, as well as a shuttle they own that will take guests to the venue and back at the end of the night. I put all this information on our wedding website, and the link to the website was on the save the date. When we sent out the invitations, I got a bunch of hotel room-block cards for free courtesy of the hotel, and I included those in the invitation suite, just in case people didn't check the website (plenty of my parents' friends called them asking about hotels before the invites went out, and we kept directing them to the website). The block closes on 6/20, a month before our wedding. Hopefully people book before then. I have my RSVP date before then so I can check in with any out of town guests.

Give your guests options so they can choose the type of hotel that works best for them. some of my guests have kids and need the space more than a fancy hotel, while others enjoy being pampered and the amenities of a luxury hotel. I don't have enough guests to make it worth reserving a block of rooms; the rate won't change since many of our guests have family in the area that they're staying with.