Guest Expectations for Out of Town Guests

Does the hotel offer some sort of airport pickup or shuttle service?

While not ideal, out of town guests do expect it, it's part of deciding whether or not to attend. Though most out of town family will probably carpool to save costs, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. I would consider though providing transportation from the Hotel to the Venue and back the day of the wedding if they aren't in the same spot. Or providing an Uber Events code that would cover their costs, minimize the possibility of drunk driving.

The more important point is- are there hotels near your venue? That's where people will stay, not at the airport hotels.

Many hotels provide a free shuttle to and from the airport. My decision on whether or not to rent a car would depend on the distance the hotel is from the wedding venue, and how long I was planning on staying.

If the hotel has a shuttle and the venue is reasonably close to the hotel, I would probably use Uber/Lyft and not rent a car.

If you chose a venue nowhere near a hotel, I probably would be forced to rent a car.

I think your worrying unnecessarily. It is expected to have higher costs for an out of town wedding than a local one. I also have a lot of out of town guests coming in for our wedding and we are prepared for declines if they cannot make it due to high costs associated with traveling for our wedding. Just be prepared for some declines but do not stress about rental cars, plane tickets etc. for your guests.

As an out of town guest to multiple weddings, I never really expect transportation. I've stayed in hotels close to venues and ubered to weddings but most of the time I just drive. I'm driving to PA in November from Florida for a wedding because I know I'll need a car and I wouldn't expect the bride to make accommodations for me.

The only transport I expect is to/from hotel where the room block is and the actual ceremony/reception. Other than that I think you are good. It is always a plus if hotels provide airport transfers but I think people expect to take taxis/ubers since everyone will arrive at different times.

I would expect to rent a car, or work out my own carpool arrangements with friends or family members who are also traveling. It's always nice if the guest hotel offers some kind of shuttle service (to/from the airport and/or the wedding itself), but it's not necessary imo. As a guest, I'd check the hotel section of your website to see if you said anything about there being a shuttle; if it's not mentioned at all, I'd assume I'm renting a car and add it to my list of expenses without a second thought.

I think your worrying unnecessarily. Out of town guests dont expect to be chauffeured around. Transportation to and from the wedding and hotel is a bonus but also not required. We had several OOT guests and some rented cars and the others all used uber.

If I'm flying to a wedding, I know I have three options to get around town:

1. Rent a car.

2. Use taxis/Uber

3. Airport shuttle provided by the hotel

I've never had a problem getting back and forth and would never expect the wedding couple to provide transportation.

Also talk to your venue, they can probably tell you which nearby hotels provide shuttles and you can point your guests in that direction. Your venue can probably give you some good recommendations!

If I'm coming from OOT, I 100% expect transportation to be provided by the couple from the hotel to the wedding venue and back. But I would also expect to get myself, on my own dime, from the airport to the hotel. Depending on how far I had to travel from the airport to the hotel would determine if I'd be renting a car or taking a cab.

I think 15-20 minutes is fine to go from the hotel to the venue, but you don't want people driving after drinking, so you really should provide a shuttle to get to and from the wedding.