Awkward Hotel Block Situation

lyndausvi

AlexaF2014 said:

I would be wary about asking for money AT ALL, regardless of it being before/after the wedding. Yeah, what he did ended up being kind of crappy, and I would be furious if I were you, but as much as he pushed, the decision was ultimately yours and because you didn't talk out blocking funds with him before hand, the financial burden comes on you for it.

If he knows, I would keep letting him know. It isn't a money thing; it's that, as a host, your guests are uncomfortable with paying more, you knew that, you accommodated for that, but his insistence on (incorrectly) knowing what his friends/family would like put your guests out. If you are as stressed as I would be about this, I would talk to him again about what you are trying to do to make this right for your guests. IT IS NOT ABOUT MONEY, IT IS ABOUT YOUR GUESTS. Yeah, 3.5K is a lot, but part of hosting and etiquette is ensuring your guests comfort. That burden falls on you. If he is a reasonable human being, I would hope he would at least be willing to brain storm ideas with you. If not, then consider this a lesson learned in 1) trusting his judgement and 2) what you put your signature and money toward.

Like it or not it all of the guest are the OP's  guests.  It's not her dad's fault guests he thought might prefer the Ritz choose to book at the Marriott.  Blocks are blocks.  There is not such thing as some guests getting the cheap rooms and others required to book the more expensive rooms. It doesn't work that way.     The OP put out the information on where there are blocks.  The guests choose which one they wanted.  Plain and simple.  Her friends could have booked earlier to secure their spot.   Snooze you loose, early bird gets the worm situation.   

 The Marriott is sold out anyway.   Had all the friends wanted the Marriott and book then the other guests who would be in the same situation of "having" to book at the Ritz.  Pretty sucky to basically say "well you are my dad's guest and how dare you pick the Marriott."

Look I get the situation sucks, but sometimes this is a guessing game. It's as hard to predict who will want what block just as it is hard to guess who is going to RSVP yes or no.   Too bad the OP is stuck with the Ritz rooms.

kgd7357

I'm not mad at all at the guests. TOTALLY not their fault. I'm also not not forcing anyone to move just to save me money. No one "has" to book rooms at the Ritz. Many guests have picked other options.

The shittiest part is my dad wanted the rooms and wont even take one himself! My mother calling and giving the info to family before it got posted on the website did put several guests trying to book at the Marriott at an unfair disadvantage.  

And seriously, it was not so much my choice. If someone is paying for half the wedding and they ask you to do something, ya sort of need to do it. Big mistake not clarifying who would cover the block if it wasn't filled. Honestly I think my dad may help out if I'm more blunt about it, but I really don't want to risk that right now.

Lets please focus on solutions to mitigate the bleeding.

lyndausvi

The Marriott is sold out.  So there is nothing you can do over there.  Your only options are to contact your Ritz sales manager and see what they can do.  Maybe they can lower the room rate for you.  Even with a  contract they might want the rooms occupied with a lower rate than sit empty.    You will not know unless you ask.

Rosebubbly

@lyndausvi‌ has good advice too! Def call your sales manager and hope that she'll fight your case to whoever makes the decision. How far out are you from the date? Dropping unneeded rooms further out can also help because the hotel can still resell them. That's why these clauses exist anyway...to prevent people from booking tons of unneeded rooms and then the hotel is left with unsold rooms at the last minute. Also. If anyone is coming early or staying late at the ritz they should count those nights towards your block even if it's not the contracted nights. You could always ask if they'll count the residence inn rooms towards your ritz block but it's highly unlikely unless they're both owned by marriott. Good luck!