So my fiancée and I booked our reception (scheduled for Memorial Day weekend) at a hotel that also has well-known event facilities and catering. One of our families lives about 45 minutes away, but the other side has family all out of the area, and there are a good number of guests traveling in. The on-site hotel was one of the main draws. After describing our situation, we were given a block of 30 rooms for the reception night. We pushed for 50 and were given 40 with the verbal assurance that adding more would not be an issue. We are about to send out invitations and our block is down to about half the rooms with our parents booking rooms for relatives/friends. When we asked about adding more rooms, we were told that the remaining rooms had been blocked for other groups that weekend. Supposedly they keep a waiting list once a block is full and, when the blocks lift four weeks before the event, they fill in rooms. We are the biggest event that evening and were surprised they didn't leave us more room.
We're now scrambling to find another hotel that will give us a block of 15 rooms but not having much luck, as other events have filled all the capacity for blocks (either other weddings or the local horse show or maybe even sports tournaments - we are in a suburban area) and the only ones with space are either 10 miles away or known to be in subpar condition.
We have 85 invites going out for about 150 guests. We know a few who definitely can't make it, and a few who definitely won't need a hotel. However, a number of guests live near the "local" parents, so it is up in the air whether they would stay overnight. Assuming they want rooms, I'm calculating 65 potential hotel rooms.
I'm not looking for suggestions but more advice/experience on whether 40 rooms was an appropriate number and if anyone has had similar issues (and how they have turned out).
