Hotel blocks- How did you do it?

I picked the hotels I knew I wanted then called and did room block right through them. They were both chains so it was very simple. Did free version- no need to pay for rooms. # of different hotels will depend on how many rooms you think you'll need. If you do the "free" version, they usually cap it at 10 rooms.

We did not use jetaport. Our venue is a hotel, so we coordinated with them and they offered a generous discount. We didn't really consider other options because part of the reason we chose a hotel was, as my brother put so eloquently, "we can roll out of bed, go downstairs, and be at the wedding!" Kid has no idea what goes into getting ready for a bride.

I have not used Jetaport, but I have some advice!

Definitely don't pay to reserve rooms! You do not want to be on the hook for that money if your guests book somewhere else/decide not to come/etc. We were able to set up our blocks already, and our wedding is about a year away. However, I think that's unique as we're having a DW so everything books reaaaally far in advance. If you are planning to send them, have you already sent out STDs? If so, you should see if you can go ahead and take care of reserving the blocks. As a guest, if I received an STD I would already be looking into hotels in the area.

All we did was look at our venue on a map and find 2 hotels within reasonable distance (no more than 20 mins away) and we picked ones in different price ranges so guests have options. Then call those hotels and ask for a block and that really should be all it requires. Check with your venue for hotel recommendations too, our venue had hotels nearby that got special discounted rates if you were having a wedding at the certain venue.

Hope this helps, good luck! Its one of the least stressful parts of the planning process so you can definitely relax a little! Also, I've heard WW's hotel block tool is helpful - though I didn't use it myself.

I used the hotel block tool here. I made sure the contract said I would not be responsible for unsold rooms. We are thinking we need 20 maybe more. The hotel I booked didnt cap anything I was able to reserve 20 rooms and they even sent me inserts to put into the invitations to list directions and how to reserve a room

I've never used Jetaport. For my block, I set it up about 9 months out. I researched the hotels close to the the venue and reached out to each hotel I was interested in to inquire about their blocks. I then weighed the pros and cons of each (e.g. free breakfast, shuttle service, rental car setup, bridal suite amenities, etc.), and went with the one that best suited my needs and would be most comfortable for guests. Pretty much all of the hotels I spoke to offered complimentary blocks, you pick the number of rooms you want reserved, and then if they aren't all booked by a certain date the remaining rooms are released to the public at no cost to you.

I called the hotels in my area as well. I just asked to be directed to someone who can help me with a potential wedding block. FH's family is from Miami, and the wedding is in IN. We just set ours up this past week. Also, only use the "free" block. They can always add more rooms if they are available.

I contacted the hotels directly immediately after booking our venue (we are getting married within 11mos of getting engaged) to find out their specifics such as percent completion, amount of rooms they can hold, amount of blocks a hotel will have per weekend etc. Our wedding is a holiday weekend so some hotels either told us no because the holiday, or no because they already had a block those nights and only allow for one, and some only can offer 25 rooms (we needed at least 50 over the course of the weekend). Everyone I spoke to at the hotels (call them directly and ask for someone who can help with a block) was super nice. They even set us up with a great website for guests to book the rooms and it can be inserted to wedding websites or save the dates. You also get a login to view who's booked and who hasn't (true story, my FH parents actually booked the wrong hotel for their older son's wedding this July, and only caught it when the B/G looked through their event management, it totally happens), which is super helpful too! Hope this helps!!

I called hotels (that I had stayed at or which had gotten great reviews) in the area and compared group rate prices. After I selected the hotels I wanted, I called them and they emailed me the contract that I signed and mailed back.

We contacted hotels directly. We searched for hotels near our venue and visited them to see what we liked. We did it about 8 months before the wedding, and got a decent discount per room. We ended up going a little higher in the price options because it includes free parking, and is the closest to the venue. It's a new hotel, but a major chain so it has specific standards.

It was also the only hotel block that didn't have an occupancy requirement so I won't end up with a bill for rooms I don't really plan on using.