Hotel Block

secondtimemob

Daughter and I went to reserve a room block for her November wedding this past weekend and were told we had to email the "administrative supervisor,"  because she works overnights and is the only one who can reserve blocks.  The hotel we want to use is adjacent to her reception venue.  We also used this hotel for my oldest daughter's wedding 2 years ago.  We had a few problems with mixed up reservations back then, but the hotel is nice and very convenient.  Other hotel accomodations are at least 20 miles away.

We emailed the lady and outlined exactly what we need for rooms for the wedding weekend. She got right back to us, told us she could block the rooms for us, and wants to email the contract to us.  However, she indicated that the room block would be released 45 days (6 1/2 weeks) before the wedding.  I replied that it seemed pretty early to us, since invitations are traditionally mailed only 6-8 weeks in advance.  That would allow our guests a week to reserve their rooms if we go on the long side and mail the invitations out at the 8 week mark. 

She also wants a copy of my credit card to "keep on file." She stated that this is "not to charge anything to"....just to "keep on file." Of course, in my reply, I asked why that would be necessary. I am not reserving a room...I live 5 miles away and plan to sleep in my own bed that weekend.

Anyway, I have not received a reply yet to my questions or a contract to sign. I am frustrated to be forced to communicate via email with a business that is physically 5 miles away from me. I feel this is a really stupid way to conduct business. I would much rather sit and talk to someone face to face and get all the answers ironed out in a few minutes.  Instead, emailing is dragging it out over several days. The whole deal of releasing rooms that early is also crazy, and I am pretty sure I will not give them my credit card without a really valid reason.  

Am I being unreasonable thinking that they are not trying very hard to earn our business?  We will probably still put their number on the accomodations card in the wedding invitation packet. I am sure they will have rooms available for most of the guests when they call, regardless of whether our block is still in effect. We live in a rural area, and I am sure most of their business comes from the reception venue next door. We are also planning to add links to lodging in the city nearest to us. Meanwhile....just waiting to see when she contacts me again.

lyndausvi

It's actually pretty common to release room blocks 30-45 days out.    The longer the hotel has to rent a room the better.  If you release the room only 2 weeks out, it's less likely to get rented.  The hotel has to protect their financial interest also.    You have to remember that while the rooms are blocked they are turning people away. Empty rooms are not good for businees.  They have to balance the needs of potential guests and their financial interests.

I also find it odd that they only person doing group booking is the overnight person.  Very strange.   At the same time I do not know how big the hotel is or if there is another situation you are not aware  of.    The regular night audit person might be on vacation, on some type of leave or maybe just quit forcing the supervisor to have to work overnights for a while.

chelseamb11

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_hotel-block-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:cabecfad-e20f-487b-b349-3f885fc514bePost:aa5ae5f2-d266-426a-9f3d-a1c465658410">Hotel Block</a>:
[QUOTE]Daughter and I went to reserve a room block for her November wedding this past weekend and were told we had to email the "administrative supervisor,"  because she works overnights and is the only one who can reserve blocks.  The hotel we want to use is adjacent to her reception venue.  We also used this hotel for my oldest daughter's wedding 2 years ago.  We had a few problems with mixed up reservations back then, but the hotel is nice and very convenient.  Other hotel accomodations are at least 20 miles away. We emailed the lady and outlined exactly what we need for rooms for the wedding weekend. She got right back to us, told us she could block the rooms for us, and wants to email the contract to us.  However, she indicated that the room block would be released 45 days (6 1/2 weeks) before the wedding.  I replied that it seemed pretty early to us, since invitations are traditionally mailed only 6-8 weeks in advance.  That would allow our guests a week to reserve their rooms if we go on the long side and mail the invitations out at the 8 week mark.  She also wants a copy of my credit card to "keep on file." She stated that this is "not to charge anything to"....just to "keep on file." Of course, in my reply, I asked why that would be necessary. I am not reserving a room...I live 5 miles away and plan to sleep in my own bed that weekend. Anyway, I have not received a reply yet to my questions or a contract to sign. I am frustrated to be forced to communicate via email with a business that is physically 5 miles away from me. I feel this is a really stupid way to conduct business. I would much rather sit and talk to someone face to face and get all the answers ironed out in a few minutes.  Instead, emailing is dragging it out over several days. The whole deal of releasing rooms that early is also crazy, and I am pretty sure I will not give them my credit card without a really valid reason.   <strong>Am I being unreasonable thinking that they are not trying very hard to earn our business? </strong> We will probably still put their number on the accomodations card in the wedding invitation packet. I am sure they will have rooms available for most of the guests when they call, regardless of whether our block is still in effect. We live in a rural area, and I am sure most of their business comes from the reception venue next door. We are also planning to add links to lodging in the city nearest to us. Meanwhile....just waiting to see when she contacts me again.
Posted by secondtimemob[/QUOTE]
No, not unreasonable at all.  It's so strange to me that they won't even ansewr your questions.  How far out is the wedding?  If it's far out enough, and you haven't sent STDs yet, you could put thew edding website info on the STDs so those who already know they're coming don't have to wait for the invitation to arrive to book in the block.

secondtimemob

The wedding is in November, and the STD's just went out.  The couple doesn't have a website. but we had already planned on letting as many out of town guests as possible know through email and word of mouth that the block was now available....as soon as we have one set up for sure.   

I definitely get that the hotel will be turning away guests while they hold our rooms.  Even a month out is a better release date than 45 days.  At least it would allow a couple weeks for the guests to reserve a room.  We will also print the release date on the info cards, so the guests will be aware.  The hotel told us that the lady making the blocks is routinely on the overnight shift.  I suppose I could try driving there at 2 a.m. to meet in person with her.

jessicabessica

I don't think 45 days is unreasonable, especially if they have a cancellation policy that you can cancel right before the stay.  Send save the dates or let people know about the wedding schedule before you send invitations--out of towners probably want to start thinking about travel and accomodations early, anyway--and when you share the block information (a wedding website would be good for this), make sure you include the date that the block closes. 

As for the credit card, I wouldn't give one.  Ask to see the contract (we had to sign a contract for one of the blocks we had, even though we were not paying anything) to determine whether they would really charge you or not, and then politely explain that according to the contract, there is no reason they need your CC info.

The communications issue sounds frustrating, but it will work out.  We had issues with people getting back to us about the blocks--you don't know how many other tasks the person who handles blocks has on her/his plate.

ETA: I just saw your update that there's no wedding website.  Why is that?  They are free, and they can be really useful for guests that are planning travel, so I don't understand why the couple wouldn't just set up something with the basic information as a courtesy to out of town guests that need to know when the ceremony is, what other events there might be, etc. when they are figuring out travel.

lyndausvi

Most overnight hotel shifts are from 11-7.  Maybe you can ask to met her at the end of her shift?

You can also call the Front desk manager or the General  Manager.  They should be able to answer your questioins.

Meegles4

I don't think it's weird that this is all being done via e-mail, especially since its hotel blocks. They have a pretty standard procedure that they follow and while you have questions since you don't do this everyday, there's really no reason IMO to meet with your hotel. I could see trying to call at 6 a.m. or something toward the end of her shift if you'd prefer not to go back and forth over e-mail. It is frustrating if she's not getting back to you. She may not be on the same schedule you are, but she should be getting back to you w/i 24 hours.

I do find the release date a bit odd. Our hotels were in downtown Detroit, one in particular is one of the most popular hotels in the city. Their release date was still only 2 or 3 weeks before the wedding.

I also don't like giving your credit card number. I'd avoid that. Did they make you do that when you booked the block for your other daughter's wedding? If so, and if it all worked out, I'd do it again. If not, then I'd bring that up and see if they can make an exception.

lyndausvi

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_hotel-block-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:cabecfad-e20f-487b-b349-3f885fc514bePost:e36f5b32-0711-4335-8def-8ea6d0edbb2e">Re: Hotel Block</a>:
[QUOTE]I don't think it's weird that this is all being done via e-mail, especially since its hotel blocks. They have a pretty standard procedure that they follow and while you have questions since you don't do this everyday, there's really no reason IMO to meet with your hotel. I could see trying to call at 6 a.m. or something toward the end of her shift if you'd prefer not to go back and forth over e-mail. It is frustrating if she's not getting back to you. <strong>She may not be on the same schedule you are, but she should be getting back to you w/i 24 hours</strong>. I do find the release date a bit odd. Our hotels were in downtown Detroit, one in particular is one of the most popular hotels in the city. Their release date was still only 2 or 3 weeks before the wedding. I also don't like giving your credit card number. I'd avoid that. Did they make you do that when you booked the block for your other daughter's wedding? If so, and if it all worked out, I'd do it again. If not, then I'd bring that up and see if they can make an exception.
Posted by Meegles4[/QUOTE]<div>
</div><div>It really depends.  Most hotel employees  are NOT on a M-F schedule.  So her days off might be in the middle of the week making her response time a little longer because she is off.  If she is an hourly employee it's unlikely she checks emails on her days off.    </div><div>
</div><div>The OP didn't say how long ago she sent the last email.   I've worked in the hotel industry for a long time.  Most places try for a 24-48 hour turn around.  Reality is sometimes it take an extra day because the person you sent the email to might be on their day off.  Then they might have to ask another person (ie a manager) what they can do and that person might not be available.  I get where it's frustrating to the M-f 9-5 people.  Heck, it's annoying to me and I work in the industry.   Sometimes it's just reality.  I generally give 72 hours.  Then I start contacting them again.

</div>

ceceibson

Our wedding is August 18.  We have rooms blocked at four hotels and all but one will hold the rooms until August 1.  The other releases them 30 days before [so, July 18].  It only has 14 rooms and they have already all been reserved by wedding guests.  We put the hotel information on the STDs, which went out in February.

I wasn't asked for a credit card by anyone.  This is a small town, and "desitnation" weddings here are very common, so maybe that makes a difference???

I did everything by phone with the hotel managers.  One woman actually manages two of the hotels.

rsaleh84

I was planning on blocking some rooms as well, but was asked to give my credit card information, and was told that I would be charged a fee if less than 80% of the rooms were booked.  Since we can't afford that, I opted out of holding rooms.  It may be rude to not have rooms blocked, but my MIL felt it was ok to allow the guests to find their own rooms since most of the OTT guests are regular visitors to our area and have preferred hotels that they like to stay in.

secondtimemob

It was the manager who referred us to this lady to start with.  I actually waited nearly a week to meet with him at 8:00 one night, because he had been on vacation.  We called ahead and made an appointment with him.  He sat down, wrote down the numbers of rooms we needed for the weekend and said he would pass that info on to her.  I actually had to point out to him  that he didn't take either our names or our phone numbers. I wish the hotel hadn't made me wait for a week to see him, only to find out he couldn't help us anyway.

When we reserved for my other daughter's wedding, they didn't request my credit card.  We had numerous guests complain that they were told no rooms were available when they called and mentioned they were with the wedding.  Then I would stop by the hotel and be told that nobody had booked any of our rooms yet.  After that, I popped in quite frequently to check their roster against our guestlist.  I micromanaged the whole thing right up until the night before the wedding.  Just when we thought it was all straightened out, there was all of a sudden no room for the bride and groom.  They were guaranteed the bridal suite with the booking of all the rooms in their block.  I brought in the contract, and the manager argued with me that they never physically looked at him and told him that they wanted the room.  My daughter had initialed that clause in the contract!  Then he came up with the story that someone else in our party requested the bridal suite.  Gee...grandpa and grandma must have felt like celebrating!  It finally came out that the room was still available and he had never even checked.

So...I am pretty sure that this deal with only talking to the third shift "administrative supervisor" who only works online has a lot to do with them not wanting to meet with customers face to face.  We have heard other stories similar to ours from friends who have dealt with the place.  This whole third shift, online thing is a new development though.  Despite all the fumbling of reservations, the hotel is very nice, reasonably priced, and super convenient to the venue.  They actually share a parking lot.

Still frustrated that she hasn't gotten back to me in over 48 hours, but guess I will give her another day on that.  I am also going to continue to ask for a shorter release date.  It was 30 days last time we reserved there.  And I am hanging on to my credit card, especially since she specifically said it wasn't to charge anything.  If it is an identification issue, I can just give her my library card. 

TheFutureShulins

Hotel blocks vary greatly from hotel to hotel as well as by date.  I work in group sales at a hotel and typically offer a 14 day cutoff with no credit card required.  If someone wants to hold a LOT of rooms over a holiday weekend, for example, I'll push the cutoff to 30 days and require the industry standard 80% minimum pick up again with no credit card required.

Bottom line, you are really at the mercy of this particular hotel.  I find it strange that she wants a credit card "just to hold" since each guest will leave their own credit card number when placing reservations out of your block.  I would try to avoid this but if you do - use a CREDIT card not a debit card.  Credit card companies offer more protection and (in my experience).  My hotel is non-smoking but if someone smokes in the room and we charge for deep cleaning - the credit card companies always give the money back to the guest when they dispute. Always. They protect their customer.  If the hotel charges your card for any reason, this will be your saving grace.

Also, I would ask if she can push the cutoff to 30 days.  It doesn't hurt to ask. Personally I would rather be more flexible on the cutoff rather than lose the business entirely.

TheFutureShulins

A trick to get around the cutoff date:

Check the cancellation policy once a reservation is made from your block.  At my hotel it is 48 hours prior to arrival.  You can make a few reservations out of your block before the 45 day cutoff and guarantee them with your own credit card.  By doing this you will secure rooms at the discounted rate and will then have between then and the final cancellation date to give these reservations over to others.  You can always cancel the rooms you don't need after all just be sure to do it well before the point where the hotel will charge you.

aragx6

^Good advice all around!

CEMurphy04

I work at the front desk of a very nice hotel in Northeast Ohio.  Releasing the hotel block 6 1/2 weeks out is ridiculous.  We release 3 weeks out but if we still have rooms available, the negotiated rate for that block is still available to the guest (yet every hotel is different on this rule.)  The GM or FOM should be able to assist you during "normal business hours" instead of having to do everything through email.  That just seems odd to me.  As far as the credit card, unless you are obligated to pick up a certain number of blocked rooms per the contract there is not reason they should need your credit card number.   I would be weary of this but If there is no lee-way on the credit card issue, give them one or two wrong digits.  People do it all the time to "guarantee" their reservations, that way when the don't show up we can't charge em!  I realize you used this hotel a few years ago for another wedding but staff may have changed since then. 
I wish you good luck and from the sounds of this hotel, I hope you do not have too many out of town guests that will require a hotel room!

secondtimemob

We're not required to pay for any of the unused rooms, so the credit card is definitely a no go.

And the place did undergo a change in management recently.  Funny thing is, they are still handing out business cards with the old manager's name on them.  And ONLY his name.  2 people gave me one last week on separate occasions.  When I asked what day he would be there, the second person finally said, "Oh, he doesn't work here any more.  Hasn't for a while!"

Unfortunately, we really do need this room block.  The groom's entire side is from out of state.  And the nearest alternative options are 20-25 miles away.

TheCharkie

This is very good advice. We're no where near this point in the planning but it's good to know what to look out for. My entire side of the family and most of my friends on our guest list are from out of town, so it'll definitely have to be something that we consider. I hope everything works out for you and your daughter!

pomundson0

I was going to reserve a block of rooms as well, and they did the 30-day prior release thing. The contract was very strangly worded though, and I didn't like it.  According to one part of the contract, if reserved rooms aren't booked, they get released back into inventory at no charge (but we still had to provide a credit card number). However, later in the contract, was something about 'expected revenue', made it sound like if the released rooms weren't booked at all by anybody, depending on the number of rooms we had blocked out that they might have been able to book to someone else at an earlier time but couldn't at the later time, we'd have to pay a certain majority percent.  We can't afford that at all!!  I ended up doing some digging and finding a variety of hotels at a range of prices for our guests, put that on our website, and encouraged them to use their AAA, AARP, or airline memberships for a possible discount