Out of Town Guests/Hotel Blocking

bstan7399

Hello All.  I am getting married in October (2010) and according to my Knot checklist, I should be researching hotels in the area for our out of town guests. 

So here is my dilemma.  Our wedding is in Mt. Airy, MD but the nearest hotel is in Frederick, MD - nearly 30 minutes away (without traffic on a 1 lane road).  Should we arrange shuttle service?  Know of any hotels in that area that offer shuttle service? 

Part 2 of this question is, once we know where we want people to stay, how do we relay that information to folks in time for them to plan accordingly?

Thanks,
bstan

dawnmhayden

Do you mind if I ask where your wedding is?  I'm just asking because we were originally going to do our wedding at LInganore winery and it was so nice!  You don't have to arrange shuttle service, but I think it's a nice gesture if you have a lot of OOT guests or a lot of people staying in a hotel as long as it is in your budget.  I know the Hampton Inn does shuttle service but it needs to be within a certain mileage from the hotel.  Maybe try asking your venue-I'm sure they know of other brides who were in a similar situation as you-they might be able to recommend a hotel that provides shuttles.
Usually when you block a hotel they give you a while to have your guests book.  You can either put the info on a wedding website if you have one and/or put an insert in your invites.
HTH

Vanessa-A

I guess I can really only help with part 2 of your post. All of my family is coming in from OOT so I arranged for a hotel block near our house and another near the reception site, which would be more convenient for all our other OOT guests. I just added it the info on an insert in our invitation but like PP stated you can also use a wedding website if you have one. One offers a free shuttle service but it should be something you can ask about. 

I don't know much about Frederick but I agree that maybe your venue can recommend nearby hotels with shuttle service or some other alternative.

JanoBean75

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_maryland-baltimore_out-of-town-guestshotel-blocking?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:85Discussion:7a5fa5fa-1ac3-4b03-afa3-0757409d244ePost:773c4763-52bf-4d54-95d1-42a2cf406ac0">Re: Out of Town Guests/Hotel Blocking</a>:
[QUOTE]I guess I can really only help with part 2 of your post. All of my family is coming in from OOT so I arranged for a hotel block near our house and another near the reception site, which would be more convenient for all our other OOT guests. I just added it the info on an insert in our invitation but like PP stated you can also use a wedding website if you have one.
Posted by Vanessa-A[/QUOTE]

This is what I'm doing. I used a hotel planning site to get quotes.

LauraT25

Have you tried contacting your venue and seeing if there are any hotels they recommend?  It's a good starting point.  Once you have some hotels in mind, you can ask them about shuttles, because they probably have some expertise. 

Offering a shuttle isn't a requirement, but I have so many OOT guests and I didn't want all of them to have to rent cars and worry about driving home after drinking at the reception.

My venue gave me the names of three hotels, I contacted all of them, and chose the cheapest.  There is very little selection near my venue (in Pasadena), so I picked a hotel at the airport because some of my guests are flying in, it's easy to find for the guests that are driving, and the hotel offers a shuttle service (complimentary if a minumum is met, otherwise we'll foot the bill).  I just MapQuested the distance, and it's 19 miles/30 minutes btw my venue and the hotel.  It's a bit further for your guests, though!

As for getting the word out, we put the info about the block and shuttle on our website, along with info on other hotel options and a note saying they should feel free to book wherever.  We also designed an insert for the invitations with the hotel block & shuttle information and our website.
 

Jody&Jason

I've been to weddings where the hotel was about a half hour from the wedding location and I didn't think that it was a big deal at all.  I agree with people---check with your venue and see what they recommend and what other brides have used in the past.

Depending on how many out of towners you have and if you have a lot of heavy drinkers, a shuttle would be nice, but is not absolutely necessary.  I didn't find a hotel with a free shuttle so we booked one through Huber's Bus Service that will take guests from the hotel to the wedding and then we'll have a few different drop off times at the end of the reception.  This shuttle info will be on our save the dates, web site, and in the out of town bags.  Maybe in one of the invitation inserts too, but I'm not there yet!  Good luck!!

bstan7399

Thanks for the Hampton Inn info.  We'll call them today.  And yes, we are getting married at Linganore Winecellars - I feel in love the moment I saw it.