Hotel Blocks: What To Ask?

You could ask if there are any special offers for the bride and groom! The worst they can say is no.


I would also ask about what the "rules" of the block are: is there any penalty for unused rooms? What date will unused rooms in the courtesy block be released back to the hotel? What code do your guests need to give in order to book a room in the block? Is there a discount, or would the price be the same for guests booking without the code? Will they add more rooms if the first set fills up? What room types will be reserved (and how many of each)? Will guests be able to cancel for free if they change their mind on booking a room? Does the hotel have a shuttle for guests to get to/from the venue?

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Ugh lifesaver Lisa, thank you so much, these are awesome questions! Some I never thought about asking like the code!

Along with PP, we asked about shuttles for the bridal party as well (since we won’t be renting limos) and what time they first start departing, we asked about breakfast options for the day after the wedding, and about hosting our rehearsal dinner there. I don’t think it’s rude to ask about what they offer bride & groom. Every email we received from a hotel actually had that in bold and highlighted to stand out lol. Oh and we asked if we’re able to use the hotel bar after the wedding. If so how does that work and what time does the bar stay open until. They also mentioned that there’s food options available if we did use the bar after reception.

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Thank you!!

Luckily, if things go well, we'll be able to use the same hotel FH's brother used for his wedding! If I can remember, they didn't have shuttles available, but that was 2 years ago so things could have changed since then! We def. want to use the bar for our meet and mingle the day before, so we'll need to check with them to make sure that's still an option!

Hi! So its totally fine to ask them to put a note on your reservation that it's your wedding night, and ask if they do anything special.

Our hotel usually put in a bottle of champagne, two glasses, and some candies but that's not necessarily standard. I worked in a Hilton hotel, so it was somewhat standard for them in their higher level hotels.

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Hi Courtney! That's great to hear!

FH's brother used the same hotel we're thinking of going with (Hyatt Place) and he said they did the same with the champagne and glasses! We'll def. be sure to ask them if they can put that note on the reservation!

View Quoted Comment No problem! 🙂 One other thing I forgot - also request courtesy blocks! If they try to request your credit card number to setup the block or if they insist that you need to prepay for the rooms, don't do it. Many hotels offer courtesy blocks that are free to setup, and no obligation to fill a certain number of rooms (also maybe double check with the hotel if there are any minimum number of rooms that you have to fill - the answer to that should be no). Also, if you plan on doing hotel welcome bags, ask them if they'll hand those out to your guests at check in (or if they'll even place them in the rooms ahead of time), and if so, will they do that for free, or is there a fee?

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Awesome, thanks!

Good tip about the welcome bags!!

Hi Shelly! Amazing questions already posted. Another would be to ask if a list can be provided to you with those who have booked - we had relatives ask us SO MANY QUESTIONS plus we were responsible to hit 80% and would be charged without notice if we didn’t meet it. My husband took that on and the hotel would provide a list upon request so he could see if we were close or not. Good luck girl! We never knew hotel block would be so hard. ❤️

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Thanks Katie! The hotel we're contacting was used by my FBIL for his wedding and he said they didn't have a charge for unused rooms, but we'll still be asking that just in case! The list idea is great because we might need to contact those that haven't reserved a room yet before the due date passes!

Biggest things, from someone who used to work hotel front desk:

1. Is this just a room guarantee/courtesy block? A room guarantee means they will hold X number of rooms at no charge to you. This means you do not put any money down. I would not do ANY other type of group block.

2. What is the cut-off date? This is the date your guests need to book their accommodations by. In the case of a "guarantee" block mentioned above, the hotel will set a date that they will release any held rooms back into regular inventory, which means your guests may not be guaranteed to get a room after that point.

3. Is there a group block rate? Does it change depending on the number of rooms you expect to be booked?

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Thank you Eniale!

FBIL used the same hotel for his wedding and said there was no extra charge, but we'll def. be checking just in case things change! We also plan on asking #2 and #3 on your list, so thank you for confirming that those were 'must have' questions!

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Meghan I forgot to ask you this, but what was the sleeping situation for you and your spouse the night before the wedding? I just thought of it and didn't know where I should sleep the night before!!

View Quoted Comment Oh so happy you asked this cus it reminded me to ask about rooms the night before. Our hotel is booked but could guarantee us a few standard size rooms. So the next day we’ll just have to move to the suite, which isn’t an issue. With that, I’ll probably share a room with my sisters and my fiancé may get his own room or share with one of the guys. We were also told if we had our rehearsal dinner at the hotel restaurant we also get upgraded to the deluxe suite. So def ask about the room before because a lot of rooms are booked due to the amount of weddings. You could also ask for your room and your fiancé a room to be on different floors so that way you won’t chance running into each other, but I’d be mindful of this if you have one photographer/videographer. Def wanna make sure you’re able to utilize the time you have with them with prep pics/footage.

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Thank you!! We'll be getting ready at the venue, so our photographer and videographer won't have to get any coverage there! I think I like the idea of having one of us stay in our suite the night before and the other in a relative/friend's room since it's just for the night! That sounds like the easiest solution for us both!

FH called them yesterday and was able to block off 20 rooms, but they're going to get back with us about whether or not we can get 25-30 because we have a lot of people traveling, plus friends that will need one!

View Quoted Comment Yeah it’ll be a fun “slumber party” the night before. I’m hoping the deluxe room opens up at our hotel so we can do the same. That’s awesome that you were able to block off those rooms!

We booked a block of 10 rooms at a hotel nearby. We can also add more rooms if those book. They offered a code for guests to book through online for a discounted room. We also paid $200 for a shuttle. It will take guests of the wedding staying v at the hotel to the wedding and back to the hotel. There will be 2 trips each way. Our hotel is a Homewood Suites so the rooms are pretty spacious with kitchenettes if needed.