Selecting hotel/hotel block for guests

gottadance64

Just wondering how to pick a hotel. Or should I pick two.  There are several cheaper hotels - Holiday Inn, Extended Stay, LaQuinta, etc. about 9 min from the reception location. There's a Marriott hotel 12 min. 

How did you decide on a hotel for guests? When did you book it? How many out of town guests did you expect and how large was your block? Do you have to guarantee a min # of guests? Do you wait until you have a certain number of RSVPs to book this block? What were your deciding factors?  I guess I could always have a hotel block at one hotel and then list two of the other nearby hotels. Thanks!

sdose13

It's free, usually, to set up a hotel block and you can reserve it as early in advance as you'd like. So I would pick the closest places. Just call and talk to them to find out about their discount, etc.

ootmother2

We booked the villas at the CC where the reception was held a year in advance and had to pay a deposit of $3,000.  These were for our very large family and the deposit was refunded after everyone had called in their deposits.

We booked two other hotels, Marriott and a local no name as well as some condo apartments that owners listed through an agency.  We tried to give a good price range for everyone

getaclue44

We booked rooms where our reception is (Newport Beach Hotel and Suites) which required no deposit and was slightly expensive.  Then we chose The Comfort Inn (walking distance to recpetion) where we had to pay $50 (non-refundable) to set up a a block.  We had to wait until 8 months before the wedding date for them to do the blocks.  It had to do with the way that their systems work.  

Each gave us 10 rooms initially and would add on if need be with the special rate.  We have invited 140 guests and we have about 40 rooms booked.  It is about a 90 minute drive for most of our guests.

Sharpschruter22

I am a hotel sales coordinator and help guests with this every day. Of course every hotel chain will have different policies, but it's pretty safe to say that you would need a minimum of 10 rooms to receive discounted group rates for your guests. Are you planning on spending your wedding night in a hotel? If so, the best idea would be to block rooms at the hotel you will be staying at. Many times you can negotiate not only a lower rate for your guests, but also a complimentary suite or Jacuzzi room for the bride and groom when a certain number of rooms are booked by your guests. The more rooms you block, the lower the rate will be. If you want to get the best rate for your guests, I would only block rooms at one hotel. I hope that helps!

loca4pook

I checked with my venue to see what hotels offered shuttle service, so you might want to start there.

I also called each hotel to see what they could offer me and then I went to visit each  of the hotels with similar costs and see the rooms. 

Also, check with the "check-in" time, as well if your ceremony is early..Make sure your guest have a normal amount of time to check-in before ceremony if time will be a factor.

You should book a hotel that does not charge you if you don't make your limit and you shuold include inserts in the invitations giving people info on the booked hotel so they are aware

gottadance64

Thanks all - very helpful!

barbris210

We only booked a block in one hotel. We were originally going to do too, a more affordable hotel and a more upscale one. But I thought it would be hard to figure out how many people would want to stay at each one. We did list some other hotel recommendations where we didn't have blocks as well.

melb2013

Our wedding is in a small beach town where the only places to stay besides this one hotel is little b&bs.  This hotel specializes in weddings since they're the only fish in town.  They've been very accommodating.  About 90% of our guests will probably need to stay at least one night at the hotel, so they gave us a great room block rate.  There was no downpayment.  There's also no minimum, which would have been no problem since I imagine that we'll need about 50-60 rooms at least.  I think because they're the only hotel within a 30 mile radius, so they know that they don't need an official minimum.   The hotel allowed us to create a block more than a year out from the wedding.  You should start calling around.

TurtlesAllTheWayDown

We had very few options - higher end hotels and really sketchy motor inns, basically. We booked a block of 10 rooms at first at the Sheraton. We had to guarantee 90% and they didn't give us a lot of upgrades or anything. But it was what it was. The hotel was in a great location with a lot of amenities nearby and we rented a shuttle to get people to the wedding. We were able to add more rooms to the block later on (when we were confident we would have over 90% of the 10 rooms booked, for example, we added more).

Convenience for your guests is a big factor. Try to make it close. If there is a shuttle you can "reserve" or easy and cheap cab service to the wedding, that's great, too. If it's close to fun things to do in your area - they can walk to restaurants or museums or other attractions - that would be nice. Price is a pretty big motivator. Our hotel was $150/night, but like I said, we rented the shuttle and did a few other things which made the cost slightly more manageable.