Skip to main content

Post content has been hidden

To unblock this content, please click here

dearemilyjones
Just Said Yes July 2021

What happens when you fill your room block?

dearemilyjones, on January 24, 2020 at 4:37 PM Posted in Planning 0 6

There seems to be a ton of information out there about what happens if you don't fill a room block, but I'm very curious about people's experiences with room blocks that were filled and exceeded. Once your room block filled, were your guests still able to book at the discounted price (as long as there was availability)?

A little background on our situation: It will take our guests 4 hrs to travel to our venue (some may have to fly too), so it's a bit of a trek to get to. Our venue is also out in the middle of (beautiful) nowhere, with the next closest chain hotel being 40 min away, so it's ideal to book accommodations at the venue. The cost of the rooms at our venue is a little on the pricier side at $250/night with a 2-night minimum.

My conundrum is, given the nightly minimum and cost, I REALLY don't want to pay for any rooms that don't get filled, but I also don't want our guests to miss out on the discounted room rate... We're inviting 130 guests max, but it's so hard to estimate who's going to be a no-show, who's going to go for the cheaper but farther out hotel option, how many people are going to try to pair up and crash in the hotel rooms... We feel safe setting up a room block for about 30-40 rooms, but that definitely wouldn't cover all our guests. It would great if our venue would honor the discounted room rates for our guests, even if the room block filled and assuming there was still availability (we asked, we're just waiting to hear back), but is that a thing venues/hotels do? Has anyone else had experience with this?

6 Comments

Latest activity by dearemilyjones, on February 4, 2020 at 1:15 PM
  • Givemeallthepups
    Expert February 2020
    Givemeallthepups ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Our hotel adds rooms to the block in groups of 10 based on availability. So we started out with 10 rooms blocked, once those were filled they added another 10 to the block. It is a courtesy block, so any unbooked rooms are just released a month before the wedding at no cost to me.

    • Reply
  • Kelsey
    VIP September 2020
    Kelsey ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    Our room block at the venue automatically adds rooms when mine is full. I already expanded the room block for Friday we only had 10 rooms and I knew we would far exceed that for the night before lots of out of state guests.

    • Reply
  • Jeanie
    Super February 2020
    Jeanie ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content
    Mine also added rooms if the block was full for the same price. But I definitely wouldn’t do anything that would leave me financially responsible for unused rooms.
    Keep in mind that for 130 guests, you will need a max of 65 rooms. When you add in families or couples that may share a room, as well as declines for the wedding, that number will go down. Also, some people may not want to or be able to stay for two nights, which will force them to book elsewhere. You can guess on all this, how close you are to the right number depends on how well you know your guests, but it’s still just a guess. If they will add on rooms if your block fills, I would start with the smallest block and go up from there.
    • Reply
  • MrsD
    Legend July 2019
    MrsD ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    It depends on the hotel. We went with Marriott. We started with a 15 room complimentary block. As the block filled (3 or so rooms left at a time), we added 5 more rooms at the same rate as long as they were available in the hotel. We told our guests early (with our save the dates 10 months out) so a lot of people booked farther in advance. We also had a second block and a few people stayed at other hotels that they had points at or had cheaper rates. Two weeks out, our hotel released all unbooked rooms into regular booking so guests just had to book in normal rooms at that point.

    • Reply
  • Suzanne
    Dedicated July 2021
    Suzanne ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content



    Hotel block needs are highly varied and difficult to plan. I feel your pain!
    It's also interesting the difference between the signed hotel contract for blocked rooms and the verbal confirmations that I got regarding questions I had. Based on verbal responses, our hotel will add rooms as needed, and will also adjust room types based on demand (king or 2 double beds). There is no charge for us for the lower room price. None of that is outlined in the fine print, but hopefully it's ok.
    Some of my friends are doubling up on rooms because their spouses are not able to attend the wedding. Some of the families are opting for airbnbs so that they have kitchens and space for kids. In the end, I'm glad we don't have a financial obligation for the hotel block! Good luck.
    • Reply
  • dearemilyjones
    Just Said Yes July 2021
    dearemilyjones ·
    • Flag
    • Hide content

    UPDATE: Thank you all for the great feedback! It's so interesting and helpful to hear what other couples have experienced and what options are out there. Since our hotel does NOT offer courtesy blocks (commitment only), it was such a struggle to come up with a middle-of-the-road room block number that we felt comfortable with. Luckily, our hotel confirmed (at least through email) that if we exceed our room block, we have two options: 1) we can add more rooms to our block, assuming there is availability and if we feel confident that those rooms will be filled so we don't end up responsible for them, and 2) the discount rate for our guests will be honored as long as there is still availability, even if the block has been filled. Such a relief to know that we have options and hopefully this can help others out there that are wondering the same thing! Smiley shame

    tenor.gif


    • 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