Hotel blocks

amarch

I am starting to look into hotel blocks for OOT guests and was wondering if any of you have advice for getting hotel blocks in Baltimore.  My ceremony will be at the Baltimore Basicila on Cathedral St.  I'm thinking of having two hotel blocks, one right near the Basilica and one in the Inner Harbor.  Or should I just stick to one or the other (I'll need 20-30 rooms total)???  And how far in advance do I need to let the hotels know how many rooms I need??? Also, any recommendations for/info about hotels for either location would be great! Thanks!

robynjdm

What price range are you looking for and where is your reception?   I don't see the problem with offering guests a choice unless your reception was going to be at a hotel; then you'd obviously be getting discounted room rates. 

amarch

My reception is at Valley Country Club (no hotels nearby).  I was questioning whether to have 1 or 2 hotel blocks mostly because I wasn't sure how many rooms were required to get a discount.  For example, could I block only 10 rooms at one hotel and 10 rooms at another and still get a discount?

behwee

We're getting married at the Walters so we're also downtown - we booked the Peabody Court Hotel.  It's pretty close to the Basilica and very nice. 

robynjdm

My fiance and I have a foundation an for the past two years we have gotten discounted/group rate rooms for booking 10 rooms.  We used the Marriott Waterfront last year, and the Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor this year.  The only thing is, I don't know if that's for charities that they discount at only 10 rooms, or in general.  But the Hyatt was amazingly helpful to us is all of the planning phases of the event (which was also there).  I would check there.

keer38

Most chain hotels actually only allow you to have a "complimentary" (meaning you're not held responsible for the number of rooms you reserve) room block of 10 rooms max. You can keep adding to it though when it dips below 10 rooms. So, you can get a discount for just 10. I think it's nice to give guests an option for hotels, so maybe two would be better. Just make sure to ask if you're held responsible for any of the rooms in the block! You should try to go with hotels that won't hold you to it. I have room blocks at 4 hotels downtown (huge wedding), and I'm not responsible for any of them. I got great prices too.

amarch

Thanks for the responses!  Glad to hear 10 rooms is about right.  I guess I'll start calling some hotels over the next couple weeks.  Also, good to know that someone liked the Peabody Court Hotel...that one is already on my list to call. How much of a discount can I expect to get for a 10 room block?  I know the Marriot Waterfront is nice but I think the price is probably too steep for most guests... Any other advice and hotel recs would be very much appreciated:)

SweetCFly

we have 35 rooms blocked off at the discounted rate @ the Tremont Plaza Suites, the hotel that's connected to our reception venue (the Tremont Grand).  We have a ton of OOT guests and a lot of friends/partiers who will want to stay the night and are having a huge wedding so may end up with even more rooms.  I know we won't be charged for anything that's not used up since our reception is there, and so that's why we're not really worried about how many extra we have.  You might want to check on if you'll be charged.  The rooms @ the Tremont are very nice, and I believe our guests are paying $109 a night.  Tremont is almost right next to the Basilica (less than 2 blocks), so you might want to check it out!

amarch

Sweetfly - I'm glad you mentioned the Tremont...I saw it online and liked how the rooms are "suites" with fridges, etc.  Regardless of hotel blocks, I am probably going to get a couple rooms there for myself and my BMs to share the night before the wedding since I want to stay in Baltimore.  (I live in Bethesda, MD)Are they easy to work with there?