Skip to main content

Post content has been hidden

To unblock this content, please click here

Richaelyn
Devoted July 2021

Should i do a hotel block if most guests are local?

Richaelyn, on February 25, 2021 at 10:34 AM Posted in Planning 0 16
Is it necessary to create a hotel block if most of my wedding guests are local? I’ll be having around 100 guests and about only 4 of those are out of town guests. Should I just let them decide on their own about lodging? My guests will be drinking at the reception so, maybe I could do a block for the people that don’t want to drive after partying. However, our venue is less than 30 minutes away from most of our guests.

16 Comments

Latest activity by Cornell, on February 26, 2021 at 10:16 AM
  • A
    Devoted May 2021
    Ally ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    I would do a block. A lot of people get a hotel even if theyre local, because theres usually a shuttle involved so they dont have to drive after drinking. Also, theres usually a discounted rate. Hotel blocks are free for you so it cant hurt to just get one
    • Reply
  • Lisa
    Rockstar July 2022
    Lisa ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    You could always set up a courtesy block of like 10 rooms! Whichever ones don't get booked by the deadline will be released back to the hotel. I personally think it's better to have those as an option rather than not setting anything up for your guests, especially since setting up a courtesy block does not cost you anything.
    • Reply
  • Molly
    Expert May 2022
    Molly ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    I'm in the same situation! Most of our guest are local and only a handful are out of town.

    On my wedding wire website, I actually created a questionnaire about accommodations. I'm also trying to figure out if they would prefer closer to the ceremony/church or reception site which is about a 30 minute drive.

    • Reply
  • Michelle
    Rockstar December 2022
    Michelle ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Personally I wouldn't. Every local wedding we have attended, we went home afterward. Same for others who live locally.

    These are adults who know how to catch an Uber as needed. Give them hotel info but let them figure it out where they want to stay. But I wouldn't do this for only 4 people.

    • Reply
  • Caytlyn
    Legend November 2019
    Caytlyn ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Most hotels offer complimentary room blocks, it doesn’t hurt to set one up.
    • Reply
  • SLY
    Master January 2022
    SLY ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    View Quoted Comment

    I agree with this!

    If you have a wedding website, you could also just have hotels in the area listed in case guests either miss the booking deadline, or decide later on they want to book a room for the night. That way they have other options to choose from besides the one you blocked rooms off at!

    • Reply
  • Llcool_Kay
    Expert July 2021
    Llcool_Kay ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Most of my guests are local but I still did one just in case they don’t want to drive home. My parents are local and they wanna stay at the hotel. I got the minimum amount of rooms though. Which was 10 rooms. My fiancé and I are also staying and I think some guests just wanna stay where we’re staying lol
    • Reply
  • Cyndy
    Master May 2019
    Cyndy ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    I agree with the others that maybe a 10 room courtesy block is good. Let guests know and if people don’t get them by the deadline they can be released.
    • Reply
  • E
    Expert September 2022
    EGD ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    We're doing a hotel block at a hotel about 5 minutes from our venue.

    Almost all but 3 of our guests are local and live within half an hour of our venue, but my FH is deadset on a hotel for an 'After Party' as he had fun when his brother did it, however, his brother's wedding ended at 5PM where ours is ending at 11PM so i doubt people will want to continue a party.

    But we also are going to provide a shuttle to and from the hotel so guests don't have to drive after partying all night. Yes everyone is an adult and can figure out how to get home, but I would hate for anything to happen to any of my guests after they partied at my wedding.

    • Reply
  • Jess
    Devoted May 2021
    Jess ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Our venue is local, but still an hour from where we live. We got a block because we figured most of our guests and bridal party would want to stay near the venue instead of traveling an hour there the day of.

    • Reply
  • H
    Master July 2019
    Hannah ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Our venue was local, about a 20-30 minute drive from where we live. We still had a lot of people stay at the hotel which was only a mile down the road from the hotel. We also had a shuttle for guests to go between the venue and hotel before and after the wedding. I would see if you can set up a courtesy block. It costs nothing and your guests get a discount. Any unsold rooms get released back to general booking about a month before the event.
    • Reply
  • M
    Expert April 2021
    Melody ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    We're not going to get a block for a variety of reason:

    1. It's a local venue and most guests live within 15 minutes of it.

    2. Those coming in from out of town have family or friends in the area they plan on staying with anyway.

    3. The hotels that are closer to the venue than where people live are boutique hotels. Even with a discounted rate, they'd be more expensive than most guests would be able to afford.

    4. We're having an early afternoon wedding with an hors d'oeuvres reception. Most of our guests are in their 30s and know their limits and generally wouldn't get plastered mid-afternoon anyway.

    5. The reception is ending right at prime dinner time. Restaurants are generally about 5min away from where people live. Going back to a hotel after dinner would actually make them drive even further.

    6. Hotels in our area will reserve a block, but require you to pay for any rooms that aren't used. That's really just not in the budget for us.

    We do plan to list a few local hotels just so people can have an idea of what's available if they decide they'd rather have "their own place" instead of staying in a spare room at their friend's place. A lot of this is a "know your crowd" thing, though. If you think your local guests would prefer to be able to party and then get a shuttle back to a hotel and not have to drive then a block is probably a good idea.

    • Reply
  • Mrs. Spring
    Master April 2021
    Mrs. Spring ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    I personally wouldn't do a hotel block in this situation
    • Reply
  • S
    Expert November 2021
    Sara ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    I don't see what the downside would be to doing a courtesy block? They're free and you wouldn't have to pay a cent.

    • Reply
  • A
    Expert September 2020
    Amanda ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Maybe it depends where you live. If there aren’t many options, it could be good to do but if you’re in any city they should be fine.
    • Reply
  • Cornell
    Dedicated July 2022
    Cornell ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    I would, start with just a few rooms like 10 see if they get booked and you can always add on. A lot of people like to use weddings as a date night and like to switch it up by staying at a hotel.

    • Reply

You voted for . Add a comment 👇

×

Related articles

WeddingWire celebrates love ...and so does everyone on our site! Learn more

Groups

WeddingWire article topics