Split costs for lodging?

Knottie1444167220

We are having a small wedding in a resort town about 90-minutes from our home. Instead of spending A TON on a formal reception hall at some boring hotel, we are thinking of renting a small group of resort cabins and provide lodging to as many people on-site as possible. We'll also likely have the ceremony there, and definitely the reception. 

So...I know it's a big no-no to ask people to pay for lodging at our decided place, but hear me out on this one. We're thinking of asking people to go in on HALF the lodging costs if they want a cabin. This would make them by far the least expensive lodging they'll find in that area, plus help us stay on budget. Each cabin has a full kitchen, private full bathroom, patios, etc. and each couple would only pay about $80 / night. 

We will still likely need to have a block of rooms set up at a nearby hotel, but knowing our friends, they'll want cabins since we're all big outdoorsy-types. We will be providing tons of food / snacks / drinks / games for the whole weekend, too

Anyone have any experience with this? The idea behind it is that we know how expensive destination weddings can be (flight, car, food, lodging), and this is our attempt to have a relaxed weekend with our friends and families, in a way we can all afford. 

CMGragain

Knottie1444167220 said:

We are having a small wedding in a resort town about 90-minutes from our home. Instead of spending A TON on a formal reception hall at some boring hotel, we are thinking of renting a small group of resort cabins and provide lodging to as many people on-site as possible. We'll also likely have the ceremony there, and definitely the reception. 

So...I know it's a big no-no to ask people to pay for lodging at our decided place, but hear me out on this one. We're thinking of asking people to go in on HALF the lodging costs if they want a cabin. This would make them by far the least expensive lodging they'll find in that area, plus help us stay on budget. Each cabin has a full kitchen, private full bathroom, patios, etc. and each couple would only pay about $80 / night. 

We will still likely need to have a block of rooms set up at a nearby hotel, but knowing our friends, they'll want cabins since we're all big outdoorsy-types. We will be providing tons of food / snacks / drinks / games for the whole weekend, too

Anyone have any experience with this? The idea behind it is that we know how expensive destination weddings can be (flight, car, food, lodging), and this is our attempt to have a relaxed weekend with our friends and families, in a way we can all afford. 

No.  You cannot ask people to pay for a predetermined wedding site.  The amount of money doesn't matter. Either you are hosting, or you are not.

charlotte989875

Can the cabins be booked directly by your guests? And do you need to rent out all of the cabins in order to have your reception there? Is the cost of the cabins included with the venue cost?

I don't see a problem with having cabins as an option for your guests if they choose to stay there. You can even contribute to the cost if you like. However what you can't do is pass the costs of your venue on to your guests. Meaning if they come as part of the package to rent out the venue you can't expect that people will pay you "back" to stay there. If it's similar to a hotel block (where guests book directly, and whether or not they stay there has no bearing on your reception) then I don't see a problem. Give them the information just like you would with a hotel block.

ETA: if guests want to split cabins with other guests, leave that up to them to arrange.

Knottie1444167220

It's not a venue at all, but the owners will let us host our reception there if all the cabins are booked by our group (basically we'd be buying the place out completely for the weekend). They just don't want us to have a big party there if only a few cabins are for our group, you know? Makes perfect sense.

We are thinking of an outdoor / tented reception, so the use of the common areas is just kind of "included" when we rent all the units. We're willing to eat the cost if a few aren't rented, because it's still the only way we can get married in the place we love

wink0erin

Don't charge your guests to attend your wedding for any reason. It's tacky.

I'd look elsewhere or work something out with the cabins, say, your guests can book through the cabin folks if they want and you will pay X amount each for any unrented cabins by X date.

 

If you're dead set on having the reception there, be prepared to eat the cost of all the cabins as part of your reception cost.

 

OliveOilsMom

Knottie1444167220 said:

It's not a venue at all, but the owners will let us host our reception there if all the cabins are booked by our group (basically we'd be buying the place out completely for the weekend). They just don't want us to have a big party there if only a few cabins are for our group, you know? Makes perfect sense.

We are thinking of an outdoor / tented reception, so the use of the common areas is just kind of "included" when we rent all the units. We're willing to eat the cost if a few aren't rented, because it's still the only way we can get married in the place we love

If, in order to have your reception at this resort, you need to rent all of the cabins, then that is your rental fee for your facility.  You cannot pass this cost onto your guests.  You can offer your VIPs to stay at these cabins for free, but it would be wrong to charge your guests anything. 

climbingsingle

No.

redoryx

OliveOilsMom said:

Knottie1444167220 said:

It's not a venue at all, but the owners will let us host our reception there if all the cabins are booked by our group (basically we'd be buying the place out completely for the weekend). They just don't want us to have a big party there if only a few cabins are for our group, you know? Makes perfect sense.

We are thinking of an outdoor / tented reception, so the use of the common areas is just kind of "included" when we rent all the units. We're willing to eat the cost if a few aren't rented, because it's still the only way we can get married in the place we love

If, in order to have your reception at this resort, you need to rent all of the cabins, then that is your rental fee for your facility.  You cannot pass this cost onto your guests.  You can offer your VIPs to stay at these cabins for free, but it would be wrong to charge your guests anything. 

This. If they won't let you have your reception there unless all the cabins are booked then you need to rent them all yourself and count then as your venue fee. If you want to let certain people stay there for free, go ahead, but you can't double back and ask them to pay for it later. 

Maggie0829

OliveOilsMom said:

Knottie1444167220 said:

It's not a venue at all, but the owners will let us host our reception there if all the cabins are booked by our group (basically we'd be buying the place out completely for the weekend). They just don't want us to have a big party there if only a few cabins are for our group, you know? Makes perfect sense.

We are thinking of an outdoor / tented reception, so the use of the common areas is just kind of "included" when we rent all the units. We're willing to eat the cost if a few aren't rented, because it's still the only way we can get married in the place we love

If, in order to have your reception at this resort, you need to rent all of the cabins, then that is your rental fee for your facility.  You cannot pass this cost onto your guests.  You can offer your VIPs to stay at these cabins for free, but it would be wrong to charge your guests anything. 

This.

You know this.  You even stated so much in your OP, so I am not sure why you are even asking this question.

charlotte989875

PPs have it covered, the cost of the cabins is your venue fee you can't have your guests pay for your venue. Rent it out and let people stay for free. If you can't afford to do this, you can't afford to get married there even if it's your dream venue.