Help me figure out my hotel blocks, please

JCbride2015

I'm using Kleinfeld Hotel Blocks and they have been a huge help and got a way lower rate than when I called around myself.  But the hotel I really want has an 80% guarantee requirement, which is a total bummer.

We estimate we will need about 30-35 rooms total, based on how many rooms booked for FBIL's wedding.  This makes me nervous though-- how did you all figure out how many rooms to book?

Hotel A: $189

5 minutes from the venue

Free shuttle

Free breakfast

Really fancy and traditional, very pretty

Requires 80% of the block gets booked, otherwise we're on the hook for the rooms

Hotel B: $139

20 minutes from the venue in a less-nice town, requires highway driving

Free shuttle

No breakfast

Contemporary and mid-range

Will hold up to 25 rooms for us with no obligation

I already know that I want to get our suite at Hotel A, which is much closer.  How do we decide how to allocate rooms between Hotel A and Hotel B?  I don't want the entire Hotel B block to fill up because it is cheaper, and we are left with a bill at Hotel A.  Plus I'd really like as many guests as possible to be around for breakfast with us the next morning.  But I would like to offer the lower price so guests have two options.

Would it be acceptable to include that we are staying at Hotel A, and having breakfast the following morning, on the website with the room blocks?  I'm hoping that is enough to encourage more people to stay there if they can afford it.

pinkcow13

You are so ahead with all this wedding planning! Okay, I'll be honest. I have no idea how hotel wedding blocks work. Do you need to pay for the rooms? Or just guarantee a # of rooms and then your guests get a discounted rate? 

I can't offer great advice since I barely know what a hotel block is (My uncle did it for his wedding, that's the extent that I know), but I think it would be fine to offer up that you will be staying in A, and then your guests can decide if they want to stay there or at the cheaper option.

By the way - did you start your wedding website already?

theartistformerlyknownas

How easy will it be for you to increase the number of rooms that you need at hotel A? My hotel doesn't have a minimum agreement, but agreed to email me when we were getting close to the max so I could add more rooms to the block and not have anyone get left out. If they make it pretty easy to increase, you could just set it really low (5, maybe 10) and only increase it once it's filled. Then I would take the entire 25 at hotel B, since there's no harm in doing so.

I would definitely mention that you're staying there and will be eating breakfast there the next morning. That might sway some people.

daria24

Is there a clause with Hotel A that if they sell your empty rooms, you get reimbursed? I've been able to get that for hotels in NJ before. 

We didn't have a occupancy agreement, but we split our blocks 50/50 between the higher and lower priced ones (they were about the same distance away from the venue). Oddly enough, more people ended up staying at the more expensive place. What is their policy if you end up filling 100% of the rooms by a certain date, will they expand the block?

JCbride2015

lolo883 said:

How easy will it be for you to increase the number of rooms that you need at hotel A? My hotel doesn't have a minimum agreement, but agreed to email me when we were getting close to the max so I could add more rooms to the block and not have anyone get left out. If they make it pretty easy to increase, you could just set it really low (5, maybe 10) and only increase it once it's filled. Then I would take the entire 25 at hotel B, since there's no harm in doing so.

I would definitely mention that you're staying there and will be eating breakfast there the next morning. That might sway some people.

The KHB rep says they should be able to increase it as long as they have a lot of rooms left. Of course it will be harder to increase the block if the hotel starts getting busy (as they might, because there are several wedding venues around).

I was thinking of starting with 15 or so rooms at Hotel A and increasing if possible later.  Otherwise guests can stay at Hotel B and it's not the end of the world.

jules3964

JCbride2015 said:

I'm using Kleinfeld Hotel Blocks and they have been a huge help and got a way lower rate than when I called around myself.  But the hotel I really want has an 80% guarantee requirement, which is a total bummer.

We estimate we will need about 30-35 rooms total, based on how many rooms booked for FBIL's wedding.  This makes me nervous though-- how did you all figure out how many rooms to book?

Hotel A: $189

5 minutes from the venue

Free shuttle

Free breakfast

Really fancy and traditional, very pretty

Requires 80% of the block gets booked, otherwise we're on the hook for the rooms

Hotel B: $139

20 minutes from the venue in a less-nice town, requires highway driving

Free shuttle

No breakfast

Contemporary and mid-range

Will hold up to 25 rooms for us with no obligation

I already know that I want to get our suite at Hotel A, which is much closer.  How do we decide how to allocate rooms between Hotel A and Hotel B?  I don't want the entire Hotel B block to fill up because it is cheaper, and we are left with a bill at Hotel A.  Plus I'd really like as many guests as possible to be around for breakfast with us the next morning.  But I would like to offer the lower price so guests have two options.

Would it be acceptable to include that we are staying at Hotel A, and having breakfast the following morning, on the website with the room blocks?  I'm hoping that is enough to encourage more people to stay there if they can afford it.

I'd definitely mention where you are staying on the website, with the info about breakfast. That would encourage some people, and not others. 

But honestly I'd be hesitant to block at a place where you are responsible for any rooms not booked, unless you are okay with that possibility being part of your budget. I know personally it's nice to know what hotels are suggested and blocked, where most people are staying, etc. but ultimately I'll make my own decision based on cost and distance to the venue.

littlemushroom

I only made a block at the hotel we are having our ceremony and reception at.  Then on our website, I listed other hotels in the area that were slightly less "fancy" but have regular room rates that are less than the hotel block rate at our venue for people who didn't want to pay that much ($99 at our venue with the block rate v. $69-$89 at surrounding hotels regular rates).

Are regular prices for other hotels in the surrounding area out toward Hotel B the same or less than the hotel block price for Hotel A?  If so, I would only have a room block at Hotel A.  If Hotel A is too much for some people, they can find accommodations elsewhere themselves.

I am frugal/cheap, and for me it would be worth the extra $50 for Hotel A for both convenience to your venue and for breakfast the next morning.  That is especially true if Hotel A is much nicer than Hotel B.

Is there a reason you want hotel blocks at both hotels other than cost?

JCbride2015

pinkcow13 said:

You are so ahead with all this wedding planning! Okay, I'll be honest. I have no idea how hotel wedding blocks work. Do you need to pay for the rooms? Or just guarantee a # of rooms and then your guests get a discounted rate? 

I can't offer great advice since I barely know what a hotel block is (My uncle did it for his wedding, that's the extent that I know), but I think it would be fine to offer up that you will be staying in A, and then your guests can decide if they want to stay there or at the cheaper option.

By the way - did you start your wedding website already?

It depends a bit on the policy of each hotel.  Generally, you just reserve the rooms and your guests get the room at the discounted rate.  However, some hotels, like Hotel A, require that you guarantee a % of the rooms.  So in this case, if I reserve a block of 35 rooms, we are responsible for 28 of them whether they actually book up or not.

@pinkcow13 I had started a TK wedding website but made it completely private because there's nothing really on it right now.  We aren't sending out STDs for a couple of months, so I will probably work on it in August after the bar.  Have you thought about what company you want to use for your site?

JCbride2015

NikkiJay3333 said:

I only made a block at the hotel we are having our ceremony and reception at.  Then on our website, I listed other hotels in the area that were slightly less "fancy" but have regular room rates that are less than the hotel block rate at our venue for people who didn't want to pay that much ($99 at our venue with the block rate v. $69-$89 at surrounding hotels regular rates).

Are regular prices for other hotels in the surrounding area out toward Hotel B the same or less than the hotel block price for Hotel A?  If so, I would only have a room block at Hotel A.  If Hotel A is too much for some people, they can find accommodations elsewhere themselves.

I am frugal/cheap, and for me it would be worth the extra $50 for Hotel A for both convenience to your venue and for breakfast the next morning.  That is especially true if Hotel A is much nicer than Hotel B.

Is there a reason you want hotel blocks at both hotels other than cost?

Mostly cost.  Also because of Hotel A's policy, this allows us to block more rooms total, without being on the hook for Hotel B.

littlemushroom

Also, are you able to check with family members/VIPs to see what they prefer before booking?  

Almost all of our guests live within 1 hour of the wedding so I assumed we wouldn't need that many rooms.  I have made it clear our reception will be over by 10 at the absolute latest.  Come to find out my entire extended family has decided they want to stay at the hotel/venue and I have already had to increase my room block.  That had been their plan all along, especially when they heard that we could all get breakfast together the following morning.

JCbride2015

NikkiJay3333 said:

Also, are you able to check with family members/VIPs to see what they prefer before booking?  

Almost all of our guests live within 1 hour of the wedding so I assumed we wouldn't need that many rooms.  I have made it clear our reception will be over by 10 at the absolute latest.  Come to find out my entire extended family has decided they want to stay at the hotel/venue and I have already had to increase my room block.  That had been their plan all along, especially when they heard that we could all get breakfast together the following morning.

I have checked with super-VIPs and they all want rooms.  FBIL had 38 rooms used for his wedding (same # of guests), so we figure we'll be around there.

JCbride2015

But I'm a little more in the dark about friends who live within an hour or two.  I know a lot of them still want to stay and party, however they are the type to pile a few people into one room.  So it's hard to estimate how many actual rooms they will book.

littlemushroom

Since you have checked with people and they want rooms, it doesn't sounds like you have to worry about hitting 80% of rooms blocked at Hotel A even if you book all 35.  This is especially true if the cost was similar for FBIL's wedding block.

To protect yourself though, you could do a split of 10-15 at Hotel A and 10 at Hotel B and keep tabs to see where people are booking, then increase A or B as needed. 

I would think it likely that closer family would gravitate toward Hotel A since the price difference is minimal when you compare convenience and seeing you and your new H the next morning.  Hotel B may be more of an option for friends and more distant family where cost is more important than convenience.

Honestly, I would probably just book the basically guaranteed number of rooms that family will take and add 5 additional rooms to that number at Hotel A for more undecided friends and family.  Then increase if needed.  

pinkcow13

I think I'll start looking into hotel blocks since that seems on the easier side. I was thinking of using TK for the wedding website since I'm always on here, lol. I think I've read in other posts from people that either WW or WB might have better websites, though.

Chances are I'll just keep it here though, since I'm not looking for anything major. I just want to be able to provide logistics and any other additional information guests may need.

Cookie Pusher

I did my room block at a hotel where I had to guarantee 90% booking. I knew FI and I would each need rooms, as well as our OOT groomsman and a couple of OOT guests. Each night a room was occupied counted as a "stay", so that helped us out. We only blocked 14 "stays" knowing we were going to use 4 of them ourselves. We included an enclosure in our STDates with the room block info, yet not a single person booked before about 10 days before the block was supposed to close. I was ready to have a heart attack because that was a bunch of money I didn't want to spend. However, we were able to fill the blocked rooms and even had to add a few the last day or two.

I would echo PPs in doing a smaller block at A so long as you can add to it and having a bunch available at B since there won't be a penalty if you don't fill them all. The last thing you want right before the wedding is to find out you owe a few grand to a hotel for unbooked rooms!

Angusaur

@Pinkcow13 I am looking into hotel blocks now and my wedding website (I used weebly) is complete, aside from registry info. I'll probably register around the time I send STD's.

theartistformerlyknownas

FWIW, I've been happy with my TK wedding website. Had some wonky formatting issues from time to time but nothing I wasn't already used to from posting. One of FI's great aunts apparently had trouble getting into it, but I'm chalking that up to the fact that she's in her 70's and not terribly internet savvy. Nobody else has mentioned any problems.

I listed the hotel where we have our block and all the prices/what's included, the custom link to book and the phone number, and then a list of places we also recommend if they chose not to stay there (places we've stayed before and know to be nice, but didn't have a block).

JCbride2015

Thanks so much everybody.  I just need to do a little more tracking down of people for numbers, but I think family + 5 rooms for friends at the nice hotel will probably do it, hopefully we can add more later if we need.

I sort of love making websites and have considered just making my own wedding website and hosting it somewhere.  That's a project for another time, though.  I've also heard the WW websites are good.

pinkcow13

Angusaur - How do you like Weebly? And I guess you are letting people know about your website on the STD's? What information are you guys including on your webside?

Angusaur

@Pinkcow13 Yep, my save the dates have our website at the bottom. I like weebly, I was able to customize it to look pretty much just how I wanted. It was easy, its free, and I like the website name. I made it Angusaur-AngusaurFI-wedding.weebly.com, which makes it easy to remember for our guests.

The front page is just a little welcome, the date, we hope you can join us, and a little collage I made of a couple pictures. 

Second page is ceremony & reception information. I put the venue, address, phone number, time of ceremony, time of reception, backup for inclimate weather, directions. 

Third page is local lodging. I included about 5 of the closest hotels/motels and included which ones offer free shuttle service to the venue. If I end up doing a hotel block I'll include that info also.

Last page is registry info, which like I said is blank for now.