Help!!!!! May need to chage venues at the last minute

I'm confused- what does your wedding venue have to do with where people stay for the night? Why can't you keep your venue and have people stay at the cheaper place if it's right down the road?

I see what your saying and I would say you either switch venues or convince everyone to stay there OR pay for them to stay there. If you going to be stuck with a 20k hotel bill at least make sure people use the moneys worth! If you can change venues without a huge penalty then go for it. You could also maybe try and get the guest to give you the cost for the other hotel they are all booking at and you just pay the difference so you bill is cheaper in the end. Not sure how you would get this out there but that could also work.

Sounds like a tough situation.

This sounded like a terrible idea. You can only have your wedding there if you promise your guests will book all the accommodations at twice the price of another place? That doesn't seem fair to your guests at all.

I don't understand. You said the other venue doesn't do weddings, so how is this even an option?

I'm confused by your question as well. How can you change venues if the place down the road doesn't do weddings?

You can't dictate where people are staying. Unless you ate paying for their rooms. I wouldn't stay in a room for $300 a night anywhere. If that was the room block option I was given, I would look for a cheaper room nearby.
This cost should have been factored into your budget from the beginning. At this point, it's going to be difficult to find another venue with short notice. But, I would start looking and see what you find. Or you will have to just pay for the rooms. Can you cut some costs in other places to cover the rooms?

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The revue requires all the units to be rented out for a wedding minimum of 5 nights or you cant have the wedding there.

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I would need to change venues all together and have it somewhere else other than Siesta Key. Like Sanabelle or Captiva or something like that

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When we originally set it up, the family was going to stay and some close friends. everyone said it was fine. I gave amounts then however when people found out about the hotel down the road everyone is going there, which puts me paying for rooms no one is staying in. We don't have it in the budget to cover all the rooms. Its a mess....

If the venue requires you to rent out the rooms for a minimum of 5 nights to have the wedding there you are essentially asking your guests to subsidize the cost of the wedding by staying there. As a guest I would look for a cheaper place to stay too. It sounds like at this point you will have to see what other venue options there are, and what it will cost you to change venues at this point.

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Then why did you book it in the first place, and assume all your guests would want to pay for that?

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We would change venues to a completely difference place

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Thank you good idea

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At Meghan, This amount is in addition to the fee we have already paid for space. I have to piece meal everything in so the guests are not paying for anything except their accommodations. I guess I will need to try and find something else

So if I’m understanding correctly you booked a venue with the understanding that your guests would need to book a minimum 5 night stay or you’d pay the difference? You talke to people and told them the block is at that hotel and it’s approx 1500 for the 5 night stay, and then they said something along the lines of “ok” and you assumed that meant they were going to take those rooms?
That sounds unrealistic for a few reasons. First off if I was invited to a wedding I’m probably not going for 5 nights. We have traveled to weddings and the most we have stayed is 2 nights. That’s a lot of time to expect guests to take off of work to celebrate what is typically a 1 day celebration.
Secondly and this could be just me but I don’t think so... I look at the room block and then I look in the surrounding area. Bc usually the bride & groom book the place the wedding is at and the rooms are very expensive bc of this. I look and see what is around bc I can typically find a similar room not as “fancy” but safe & does the job of giving us a place to sleep for about 1/2 the price. I’m not going to fly in for a wedding, bring a gift, have to eat out bc we’re traveling, rent a car/taxi/uber AND pay $1500 to stay 5 nights at an expensive hotel just so I can help offset the cost that the bride and groom are paying... that’s not cool. When we travel I don’t pay $300/night for a room I just don’t and maybe that’s me but I live in CA which is expensive to do anything and I don’t pay $300 for a hotel.
My advise? If you can’t afford $20k don’t expect your guests to either... change the venue. Take the loss on this one and move the venue if you have to pay something for not keeping it as your venue I’m sure it’s cheaper than paying $20k for the rooms that won’t be used.

View Quoted Comment So you didn't even mention to them that there were other hotels in the area at first? You just assumed that everyone would be able to take 5 days off of work and pay for an over priced hotel room? That's ridiculous. I've traveled for a few weddings and never stayed for that long or paid that much for a hotel room. I had a destination wedding in Mexico and a lot of guests were not even able to stay for that long. Your guests need to consider their own budget and time when traveling to your wedding.
I'm sorry that you are going through this, but it really is a mess that you created. You booked this place knowing that you would be responsible for those rooms if no one else booked them. You need to make a decision on how you want to fix it. And you need to do it soon. Either come up with the money to pay for those rooms. Or move the wedding to a different location. Look around in the area and see what else is available on your day. There's not really much else you can do at this point.

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Everyone is assuming that I said nothing or asked them to pay for a ridiculous hotel room. Most are family, which originally agreed and the cost was talked about before booking. I am not asking anyone to overpay to assist in my accommodations. I am actually assisting in my family's flights as well as accommodations. If this was brought to my attention if the first place I would not have booked, however, everyone said it would be just fine. Now everything is changing.. I am not wanting people to overpay, which is why I am thinking of other venues.

Our friends which we have knows for years and we all have kids decided it would be a great vacation for all of us anyway, which the family did as well. I am not a young bride where I do not consider other feelings and their financial situations.

View Quoted Comment My assumptions and opinions are based on what you have told us about the situation. "then however when people found out about the hotel down the road everyone is going there." From this, I would assume that you did not mention to people that there were other places near by that guests would be able to stay at. Did you tell these guests that there were other hotels in the area that may have better room prices? Or did you only tell them about the one you wanted the wedding at?
"About 1500 for 5 nights" "minimum of 5 nights" From these statements, my opinion is that this is a ridiculous price to pay for a hotel room. Especially when you add transportation, food,and other costs guests will have to cover.
"there is a place right down the road for half the price" This again ads to my opinion that the rooms are overpriced and a ridiculously expensive price.
I get being frustrated by the situation but from what you have said, it doesn't sound like your guests were aware that there were other options when they first agred to the hotel. They most likely assumed that your hotel was giving them a great rate and they wouldn't find a better one in the area. But, after a little research, they did. And saving $750 for a 5 night vacation can allow them to do more during their stay or once they return home.
I am not from the area, so I do not have any specific suggestions, but I would call some other hotels in the area and see if they have any availability for your date. You can also try contacting the county to see if they have any spaces that can be used. Or reach out to the other vendors you have already booked. Explain the situation and maybe they will have some ideas of venues that may work.

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Then it sounds like a terrible place to host a wedding if you aren't grossly rich and able to pay for it. I agree with PP - You CANNOT force your guests to stay at a particular hotel (or any hotel for that matter)... because you agreed to a contract that makes you pay for all the rooms in a building. (this sounds like a terrible way to do business and would raise a lot of red flags to me as a consumer)

On the flip side, if the other place (where they want to stay) doesn't host weddings that isn't really a "venue" it's a hotel.

Can you cancel venue #1 without losing a ton of cash? and can you book a venue that doesn't require you to book every room in the building so your guests can stay where they want?

If switching venues isn’t an option, could you ask your guests to pay what the cost of the cheaper hotel is (to stay at your venue) and you pay the difference? You’d still be out some money, but not the total amount.