Are you having a shuttle to take guests from the reception to the hotel?

Yes, we had a great deal with our hotel that we had a free shuttle with a hotel block of 10 or more rooms. Ask around, maybe you can find a similar deal?

Welcome to WW

Yes we are providing a shuttle as well!

With our hotel block we had the chance to use the hotel shuttle at a discounted rate. However, I found out that the shuttle only holds 11 people, so it would have had to make 3-4 trips. I didn't want people to have to arrive to the venue like an hour early just so the shuttle could make more runs.

I wound up looking into just a regular coach bus company that had good reviews and a number of different sized buses. I told them how many rooms we had blocked and they gave me a quote for a couple different recommended bus options. We wound up being able to rent a full sized coach bus for only $200 more than the hotel shuttle would have been!

We are having this dilemma now! We would need a 56 person coach bus and the quotes I have for the CT, RI area around a little over 1,000. I have no idea if that is even worth it? We have a bunch of out of town guests too that are young and with the combination of an open bar it seems necessary that we find transportation!

We are having a shuttle as well. the hotel that we have the rooms blocked at offer it as a free service.

I'm not doing that... my brother got married in october and hired the local shuttle for the night.. spent over $600... only about... 4? people used it. and he still had to pay the $$. The hotel we blocked for the wedding is literally within walking distance of the recpetion area so i'm getting the shuttle for my grandparents who need a ride back to their asst living home but that's it.

Hi, welcome to WW!

The hotel where we had a block also provided the shuttle, free in one direction and there was some nominal charge ($50?) for the run back, just because it was after midnight. Ask the hotel first, they may have inexpensive options.

Our hotel provides 2 complimentary shuttle trips so we are using that for family and the wedding party!!

We have the same hotel block deal as the other girls

We also got a shuttle with our hotel block that took the guests from the hotel to our reception and back to the hotel, about 10 minutes each way. We also had a deal with our limo company that people could book in advance with another shuttle and it would pick them up from their home and return them back home. That I believed cost around $50/per ride. But this could be split between a few couples, so much less then a cab ride. My MOH & her husband, plus a bunch of other people did this since we had an open bar.

We are not having a shuttle - the hotel we blocked rooms at is LITERALLY across the street from the front entrance of the Club.

We originally wanted to but its not in the budget and it just doesn't seem worth it. We are in a rural area so the hotels nearby don't offer it. My sister had one and basically only the bridal party and a few other couples used it. The 10 people who would have used it can just carpool the ten minutes from the hotel. Besides we aren't having any hard alcohol and our guest list isn't a bunch of heavy drinkers so we'll be fine.

As a guest at other weddings, I've only been to one that provided transportation. It was very nice and much appreciated. I think it's a classy thing to do, but certainly not expected. All other weddings I've been to we drove if the reception and ceremony were in different places.

I'm looking into hiring a shuttle as well. My best quote so far is $700, so I'm not sure if we will pull the trigger.

I really wanted to provide this for our guests, not just so they would have a designated driver if they had been drinking, but also because 60+% of our guests are from out of state and don't know the area very well, and because many are older and do not see well enough to drive after dark. Unfortunately, NO ONE is staying at the same hotel, and we found it would cost an arm and a leg to have a shuttle return guests to a variety of places. Will watch this thread for some other ideas, though. I suppose guests could ask individually at their hotels if a shuttle was available, but our reception goes until 10:30 or 11 and the hotels I did contact only ran shuttles until 8 pm. (Really? In a resort town?)

Google local hotels/ inns etc in your area and find out which ones have a shuttle service. Call and inquire about setting up a block of rooms. Guests pay for the rooms and double check how they arrange the shuttle. Is the cost covered by you? Or is it built in to the room price? For mine we have a block set up and I pay $75 for the shuttle which is reasonable

When I thought about all this. I was worried about it and how would it help or hender our guest.. Would we have guest that might not want to use thier own cars and get lost.. ect.... So that is why we decided to go ahead and have the ceremony and reception at the same hotel that way our guest could also stay there for the whole thing and if they choose the night as well. It is taking alot of stress about missing guest off our shoulders!

Just remember that if there is a shuttle from the reception to the hotel, there really needs to be a shuttle to the ceremony, then from ceremony to reception (if they are in different places), as well. If guests have to drive to get there in the first place, they aren't going to use the shuttle back to the hotel.

Thanks, ladies! Any Philly brides know of any hotels or chains that provide a shuttle? We only found one hotel that does close to our reception, and they would charge $100/trip, but the shuttle only holds 10 people, so they would have to make multiple trips both to the reception and back to the hotel. None of the hotels downtown offer shuttles, and we have yet to find a hotel in the suburbs that offers a free shuttle service or one that can accommodate more people.

We are having a first student bus. The quote was right around $1K & we'll have it make trips all day between the wedding/reception (same venue) to the hotel & back again. No money was needed as a down payment & it doesn't have to be paid in full until 5 days before the wedding. If when I choose a hotel that has free or cheaper shuttle services I can cancel the bus transportaion with no penalties. I think it's a great idea!

(We are having an open bar as well, thus why I wanted free transportation for our guests.)

Philly bride here, our wedding is in the suburbs (Collegeville to be exact) and we are using Staybridge Suites in Royersford for our hotel block. As I said in my earlier post, they offer a shuttle, but it is not free, and it only holds 11 people. We wound up going through Krapf Coaches in West Chester and are getting a 49 seat coach bus for only $200 more than the hotel would have charged us. It includes multiple trips each direction but I'm not sure if we'll even need them because it holds so many. Getting a quote from them was super easy through their web page!

Providing a shuttle is a thoughtful idea, especially with an open bar. Many couples save money by running shuttles only during peak times or using one larger vehicle instead of several trips. School buses can work, but comfort matters too. Some guests appreciate clearly scheduled options, similar to how Wood Black Car Service plans group transportation efficiently.