Hotel blocks? *I know how they work now*

Oh another question- when should I officially set up a hotel block? I also want to make sure I don't wait too long.

From what I know, setting up a block gives your guests a discounted rate. You should not have to pay upfront for anything, nor pay for unused rooms.

Typically a hotel will block say, 10 rooms, and once your guest book those 10 rooms you can call and ask for more if needed.

I am just starting this process myself, and online a lot of hotels are claiming rooms aren't available for my date, so I'm REALLY hoping this isn't the case. Its just under a year out, not sure how they can be booked already.

Just ask them what the rate would be, how many rooms you can block at a time, make sure there is no fee you have to pay (shouldn't be) and maybe if there is complimentary breakfast for guests the next morning? Thats always nice

You don't HAVE to have one, but it is nice to get the discounted rate if you have a lot of guests traveling and/or it's during a busy travel season.

Every hotel's block contract is different, though you shouldn't have to be responsible for pre-paying to have a block. With ours, we arranged a block with a specific number of certain types of rooms and guests have until a certain date (closer to the wedding) to reserve their rooms.

I'm actually wrapping up my hotel block(s) now. I used WW to set up the initial contact for a few local hotels. The two that I chose got back to me in a timely manner. I requested 10 room blocks at both (I'm over-estimating my guests), and both hotels told me that I owe no money nor will I be penalized for any un-rented rooms. My guests have to reserve their rooms by August 19 (one month before the blocked-off date).

However, a coworker of mine is getting married around the same time and the hotel that she blocked required a percentage down to "save" the rooms.

Hmm okay. Thank you! This is so helpful. I'll definitely make sure to get a contract in writing and make sure it's a courtesy block.

You know what? Adult humans have been leaving their houses and booking hotels for decades, and hotel blocks are a pretty recent invention

Unless you have a wedding in the superbowl city in Feb, don't make this your problem. Send your invites out and let them find a place to stay. It's really not that painful.

Hotel blocks are very common because it's a courtesy to your guests, and costs you nothing! It gets your guests a better rate, and ensures that there are rooms available (if they book by the cut-off date). I can't remember the last time we went to a wedding that didn't have a hotel room block - we always stay in the hotel, even when the wedding is local, because we don't drink and drive! You definitely should not have to pay for any unused rooms or to set up a block. I would set up the block before you send out STDs - some guests, especially VIPs like bridal party and family, will book right away so they don't forget later.

Definitely get everything in writing, including the room rate, what types of rooms are in the block (typically 2 queens or 1 king bed rooms), how many rooms are in the block, when the cut-off date is, and any perks that you may get for booking a room block (for instance, we were given a complimentary room as the bride and groom). You may also want in writing other things like if they will hand out welcome bags to guests (again, that should be no cost to you), if they will contact you if the block is full before the cut-off date, etc.

Also, definitely read reviews and GO SEE IN PERSON the hotel that you wish to use for your room block! As to see a room that is in the block. I wish I had done this!

My experience with booking a hotel block for my family is this:

1. I signed a contract that said I would be holding these hotels until a month before my wedding (we did our block almost 2 months ago).

2. I didn't have to pay for these rooms to be held.

3. We got the rooms for a discounted rate.

4. After July 15th these rooms will no longer be held for people to book.

Honestly it was pretty easy and nice for my guests. And it doesn't cost anything if they don't book it. Maybe not all hotels are the same, but that's how ours was.

While you certainly don't have to have one if there are that many options, booking a block at one or two hotels can ensure shuttle service for your guests. I wanted to provide transportation in a town that doesn't have cabs, thus why I'm booking a block. The hotel we are booking at provides a free shuttle to and from with a block of 15.

Alyssa, I'm not sure how long ago you looked, but I've had hotels turn me down on the hotel block feature ww has because I'm over a year out, and they don't guarantee prices that far out.

Op, you might run into the same problem. You probably will need to wait until October to get accurate rates.

Our venue is a hotel, so they are giving us 40 rooms there and we are committed to half of them (which won't be an issue at all- invites haven't even gone out yet and we're almost mostly there). Once we hit 30 rooms booked, they will up our block to 50. Once we hit 40, they'll up to 60 and so on and so forth. We also have two more blocks of 10 rooms each at other hotels on the same street for guests who may have rewards or something at other places. Neither of those blocks is costing us anything.

Thanks so much for all your help!! I'm going to do some research on hotels in the area and I'm planning on setting up blocks at a couple different hotels sometime around this October-November.

Fall Bride, thank you for bringing up the Columbus day weekend thing! I didn't think about the holiday weekend making a difference for hotels.

If I'm setting up blocks at multiple hotels how do I go about adjusting the room numbers? I'm estimating that we'll need about 30 rooms, but I know some of our out of town family members will most likely be staying with local family.

So would it work to block maybe 15 rooms at each hotel?

I would disagree with Celia. FH and I both work in hotels, and I think you should absolutely book a block. It will help you make sure everybody gets the important information about shuttles, any other activities, etc.

A couple things I will suggest asking:

1. When will the hotel release any unsold rooms? Industry standard is typically 30 days prior, but some hotels release them 45 days prior. If it is 45 days prior, make sure to get your invited out in time.

2. Will the wedding rate still be available of the rooms are released? I've worked at several hotels that will keep the rate available after the rooms have been released, as long as their not sold out.

3. Do you have to pay for any unbooked rooms? If the answer is yes, find another hotel.

4. How many nights have to be booked and/or paid for for you and the groom to get a complimentary upgrade or room?

I've created blocks for a lot of weddings, and hotels want the business. You just need to go in knowing what you're looking for and have the willingness to negotiate with them.

Following

We didn't do one. My friend did one for her wedding and we stayed at a nicer hotel, for a cheaper rate than her block price. Her hotel was actually cheaper for a room on Expedia than her block rate. We had a total of two guests ask about housing options. I sent them a list of hotels near our venue with different pricing variations.

You can set up the block whenever---I did it a while ago and I'm getting married in October.

Every hotel---even hotels in a chain---will have different policies. I shopped around a bit before booking. One hotel was barely giving our guests a discount, the decor was outdated, and they wanted to charge us extra to keep the bar open after hours. The hotel we ended up picking is more modern, the bar is free, and our guests are getting really nice, discounted rooms.

We did not have to pay upfront for anything. They said if we added more rooms than the standard then we could possibly have to pay a percentage. That being said, we haven't hit our cap yet.

If you can, ask to go look at the rooms, etc. and get a quote for your guests.

The only reason we booked a block (a very small one at that) was because there's a convention or something going on near our venue that has rooms booking like crazy and prices jumping around. We wanted to limit the crazy for our guests. Otherwise, we were going to give them suggestions of the many hotels that are within 15 minutes of our venue with no reserved blocks.

I just set mine up. They put 20 rooms (will add more as needed) on hold for wedding guests. Our guests will get a discounted rate. If at least 10 rooms are booked I get a free night. The hotel will hand out our welcome bags. The block doesn't cost me anything any rooms not booked get released from the block 21 days before our wedding.

Because it's so far out, you won't have a ton of fantastic bids yet, I'd wait until a year out. It was something I officially didn't want to do, however I found it'll be respectful and beneficial. You can find plenty of hotels that won't charge you, instead you have to get those rooms booked (normally at a discounted rate) by a certain date or you lose the rooms. It's actually not too much work.. I used the hotel block service on here

Thanks everyone for your help!! You made this so much easier to understand!