Hotel Blocks Necessary?

The hotel blocks I have looked into didn't require a deposit. They only required a block more than 10 rooms. You might want to look at a different hotel that way you are not paying.

In this case, I would not do the block. Just provide your guests with the hotel information. Otherwise, you could get stuck with a hefty bill!

How far are hotels that will do a block? If there's something within 30 minutes of your venue that will do a courtesy block, I would take it, because it won't cost you anything, and then give your guests the option of the discounted block a little further away, or booking a room on their own and being closer to the venue. I would not risk taking a block that forces you to put your own money down on it though, so if there is nothing else even somewhat nearby, just forget the block altogether.

It's not necessary, but if you have a lot of OOT guests who are going to be needing a hotel, you might want to at least block a handful of rooms if this is the only hotel close to your wedding venue. Maybe there are airbnb or vbro options you could share with guests as well.

The main reason for doing it is if you have people coming from OOT and you want to make sure they have a place to stay for your wedding. If you aren't getting married in an area that is popular for tourism, than you are probably fine. If you are getting married Columbus Day weekend or if you live near a college and they have their homecoming scheduled the same weekend, the hotel could be completely booked and your guests won't be able to stay close to your wedding.

If you only have a handful of people coming from OOT or you aren't getting married during a popular time for travel in your area, than you are probably fine with just providing hotel information (and maybe some rental information if you have any families traveling together that might want to rent a house for the weekend). Whether it's necessary or not just depends on your guests and your area. 80% of my guest list is from OOT, so I felt I needed to get a room block so they could all stay at the same place. You can do a little research about local events in your area that may attract a big crowd during your wedding weekend, but if there is nothing major, you are probably fine. Maybe just let any OOT people you invite about the hotel information early, so they can book without risk of it being sold out.

Our room block didn't require a deposit. I wouldn't go with that hotel.

Don't book anything other than a courtesy block. Give your guests a list of recommended hotels at varying price points.

If there are no other hotels within 30 minutes of your venue, have you considered providing a shuttle? You really don't want to be liable for your guests drinking and driving because you chose an isolated venue.