Hotel Blocks

Hi Kayley,

I work at a hotel (just a front desk agent), so what you are going to have to do is to call and to talk to one of the sales managers that are in charge of wedding hotel room block for you. They should give you a quoted price for your guests that will be staying in the hotel. Now to have multiple places for hotel room blocks is entirely up to you, some hotels do courtesy blocks and some don't, so you will have to gather some information from the hotels that you are considering. As of planning it out in advance, I believe most hotels can only do a year in advance, but it's definitely an awesome thing for you to think about right now! I hope this helped you out! Let me know if you have anymore questions!

I didn’t need to put down a deposit on our block. I just had to specify how many rooms. If not all the rooms were booked by a certain date then they’d release them and guests could no longer get the discount. Call the hotel you’re looking at and speak with someone in sales. Some hotels require a 10 block minimum and then you’ll be financially liable for those rooms that aren’t booked so definitely ask.

My hotels let me block 8 months out. You call and they’ll reserve x amount of rooms for the days you want. I had 3 options but people only booked at 2. I wouldn’t book somewhere that makes you pay for unsold rooms, just one where they’ll release for sale unsold rooms by a certain date.

The hotel I went with didn’t book until 1 year out. They had 2 options for blocks: 1. I think it was you could pick how many rooms you wanted, but if by a certain date they weren’t filled, they released them. Also if the hotel was booking fast they could take some of your rooms if they needed them. 2. You got to tell them how many rooms you needed, but if you didn’t fill at least 70% of them, you have to make up the difference. We chose the second option because a lot of our guests are from out of town and we wanted to make sure we had rooms for them to stay in. We also told them fewer rooms than we estimated to account for people who don’t end up coming.

Hotels offer complimentary room blocks (usually 10 rooms and under). If you haven't booked by a certain time they will release the hotel rooms. The other type of room block is contractual. This means that you have to fill 80% of the rooms or pay the remaining balance of the amount that you didn't meet.

Call the hotels that you are interested in and ask if they offer complimentary room blocks, you will not have to put down a deposit or have liability for rooms not booked. We did three different blocks - a cheaper option, mid tier and a pricier option.

I wasn’t able to make my room block until it was less than a year away. They have a ten room courtesy block, which means I am not responsible for any unused rooms, and then will add on if needed. However if I wanted more then that, I would be responsible for them if they did not book. If you decide to get two room blocks, I would choose one cheaper and one a little nicer to give your guests options. Any more than two seems like too much work. If your guests don’t like what is offered, they can stay elsewhere. Having a room block will usually get you a cheaper rate and will lock in that rate for your guests. This is more important if your wedding is in a high tourist area or in a busy time of year (such as holiday weekends or summer down the shore). But for a 2021 wedding I would say it’s a little early to start planning room blocks, especially if it’s later in the year.

Travel agent here! You can either have a contact, where there would be a deposit, or have the company create a code for you. I’m going to go with the later so everyone will be responsible for their own rooms.

Whichever you choose, you will not be able to book until around 300 days prior to check-out. I’m also getting married in 2021 and I have a reminder on my phone for travel bookings (including honeymoon).

Hi there! I’m a Hotel Sales Manager and the Social Market is my specialty, so I primarily work with Wedding Blocks. We have a 10 Rooms for any one given night minimum, and 80% Attrition. This means out of the 10 rooms you’ve blocked, you’re financially responsible for producing 8 rooms (80% of 10 Rooms = 8 Rooms). You & your guests have until your Cut-Off Date (last day to book, typically 30 Days prior to arrival) to meet this requirement. No deposit necessary, but a contract will be signed and most likely a credit card will be needed to guarantee that you will meet this requirement.

Questions to ask the Hotel:
Minimum Number of Rooms & Length of Stay
Attrition %
Cut-Off Date

If your Group Block is during the hotel’s “slow season”, you may even get an extended cut-off date or lower attrition %.

If you’re worried about being financially responsible for rooms, I’d ask the hotel for a “Courtesy” block. This is a block of discounted rooms with an earlier cut-off date of 60-90 days - this would mean any guests looking to score the discount would have to book prior to 2-3 months out, but this way the hotel isn’t blocking rooms while deterring away other business for a group that may not produce.

Always start with the amount of rooms you’re comfortable with and encourage your guests to book quickly. That way, you’ll know ahead of time if you’ll need to add more rooms to your block while the hotel still has availability.

Doesn’t hurt to ask! I hope this helps

All the hotels I reached out to said they don't do blocks more than 1 year in advance. So I wouldn't worry about this until June 2020. In June, I'd reach out to several local hotels & ask what they do for hotel blocks. Do they do complimentary blocks? Are you responsible for unbooked rooms? Any perks for guests or bride & groom? I would do at least two (a cheaper one and a nicer one).