Is it necessary to do hotel blocks?

We just listed nearby hotels on our website for a few reasons:


1. We intentionally chose our venue because it has > 10 hotels of renowned chains within 2 miles
2. When we went to get quotes for a block, the prices were the same as booking individual rooms
3. Most of our guests are from out of town, and they all seem to have very different plans with regard to their arrival and departure dates, plus several expressed wanting hotels near their airports, or preferring Airbnb to a hotel, or wanting a specific hotel chain
As for your last question, it depends on the contract you negotiate. I know that can be the case if you don’t book X percent of the rooms by Y date. Google brings up some informative articles about this.

It never hurts to do a courtesy block because that way, you often get a better rate for your guests and you're not responsible for paying a cent, no matter how many rooms get booked. I'd look into courtesy blocks, because you have nothing to lose

Hotel blocks are definitely not necessary, I think that listing them will be fine. Also, most hotels offer a courtesy room block, that way if they aren't booked you aren't responsible for the money. They will just release the unbooked rooms by a certain date. I would inquire with the hotel.

I think it's always a nice gesture to setup a courtesy room block, just so that there are guaranteed rooms available if guests want to book them! When reaching out to hotels, ask about a courtesy block. The way it works is this: the hotel sets aside a number of rooms (usually 10), gives the block a code (usually your names), a set price (sometimes discounted), and a deadline to book the rooms by (usually around a month before the wedding). Guests can call the hotel, give the room block name, and reserve a room using their own credit card. If all rooms book up before the deadline, they set aside another 10 rooms (depending on availability). Any available rooms not booked by the deadline are released back to the hotel for them to sell to someone else. You are not responsible for paying for unbooked rooms (or booked rooms, unless you are the one who reserved the room). Wedding Wire has a room block tool to help you find local hotels in your area - I recommend checking this out!

My FH & I attempted to do room blocks for our wedding next month, but all of them required us to pay if a certain number of people didn’t end up staying there. So we ended up not doing any room blocks, but we did mention local hotels to stay at!

I just did a block. They set aside 20 rooms for our 5/20/22 wedding, $20 a night discount, the block will expire 2/12/22, and the rooms will be released for other guests to book, we don't pay anything. I'll still tell my friend that they might be able to book a room there cheaper through Priceline (I could get a basic room there on 7/31 for only $95 on Priceline, but it's non-refundable) and it's up to them how they wanna do it. The block will just be easier for our older guests.

We did a room block- not courtesy and we will be on the hook for any outstanding rooms... BUT we choose a number that made sense since no one is near our venue from my family and the bridal party. Also we are getting our shuttle to/from the hotel because of this block at no cost to us. So part of every room goes to the shuttle. They also knew which rooms would be good to book for the wedding party to get ready, etc... And it was a beautiful hotel and the rate was very reasonable for the area.

I won't be doing a block - I'm going to be listing hotels nearby. But also, all of our family is local and are familiar with the area.

We did a block at a hotel a mile from the venue. It was a courtesy block, so it cost us nothing. Unsold rooms were just released a month before the wedding date. The guests got a discounted rate, we got a free room for ourselves (they gave us a suite too!), and we paid $200 for a shuttle through the hotel to transport guests between there and the venue. There were a lot of positives and zero negatives in our doing a block.

We listed a couple hotels on the back of our invitations instead of doing a room block.

If the hotels in the area will do a courtesy block, I honestly think it's a no-brainer to do one. It will literally cost you nothing, and having one is such a convenience for guests.

FH and I reserved a block for comfort and convenience. The hotel released unoccupied rooms after booking deadline at no cost. You could always list nearby hotels on your wedding website or invitation.

My wedding planner told us today that they are doing less and less hotel blocks these days. Travelers are looking for more flexibility financially and also just finding a vibe that they like for their personal travel experience. I don’t think you need to room block, a list would be great and appreciated!

Is your wedding in a touristy area or at peak travel season? If so, calling for a courtesy block to guarantee available rooms is a good idea. Many of the hotels we called out of curiosity will block rooms but don’t offer discounts. It depends on your area. As long as you are not in peak season, or marrying when other events are happening at the same time, you should be fine to just list hotel options if a courtesy block is not an option.

We did a hotel block in 2019 for what was supposed to be a 2020 wedding. The room prices were basically priced right around the price of individual rooms however they are upgrading our room to the bridal suite while only paying the standard rate.
It's a courtesy block so I am not responsible for covering any rooms that were not booked. The block expired 30 days before the actual wedding date.
Besides the room upgrade, the best reason I saw for doing the hotel block is that I'm getting married near towns that get quite a bit of visitors in the summer so room prices do tend to go up. I was able to keep the off peak pricing thru 2020 and into 2021. So booking thru our hotel blocked saved our guests about 60 bucks a night. That being said, it's not required but I do think it usually helps keep the room cost down.

It honestly depends on where you're getting married! I'm getting married on the Outer Banks in July of 2022 so there's no choice but to do hotel blocks for our guests. The Outer Banks is such a big vacation destination, if I didn't have blocks no one would have anywhere to stay! If your area is like this, I'd recommend it. There should be no fee associated with hotel blocks either!

I did a room block and included a bus for travel to and from venue for this August and majority of my guests are not using it. Luckily I only did 10 rooms, and have 5 total. I am on the hook for 30% of the rooms. Check with each hotel. I feel like I ended up wasting money.

Hi there!

Its not necessary. However we set up a few hotel blocks at a hotel 5 minutes from our reception venue! The room blocks were curtesy at the Holiday Inn and Express near our venue. ( i know some you may need to put down a deposit) We have some out of town guests and we thought it would be a nice gesture to at least offer a hotel at a discounted rate if they choose to do so.

Hope this helps!

Sam

I did a room block months ago in preparation for our September wedding (I think I booked it in March or April) and I’m SO glad I did. The discount locked in a rate of around $100 a night. We’re having a destination wedding in one of the most popular vacation spots in the country, in one of the most popular times of the year to go there, and between that and people wanting to travel more with COVID restrictions loosening up, the same rooms that I locked in at $100 a night are booking for $400 a night at the regular rate. Saved my people a boatload of money!

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That’s exactly what we did with our venue. We had a 20 room courtesy block which helped because 90% of our guests are from out of town.