May 2013 Weddings

Hotel block tips wanted

I plan to call on these in the next couple days and was wondering, for those of you who have them reserved already, what are some good questions to ask? How did they reserve them for you unpaid?
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Re: Hotel block tips wanted

  • I asked:

    What is the discounted group rate?
    Are there any incentives? (ex: my hotel gives me a free room or $100 off a suite AND a free shuttle for every 20 rooms booked)
    What time is check-in? Is an early check-in possible, if necessary?
    Do you offer a morning after brunch or is breakfast available at a discounted rate for guests?

    As far as reserving the rooms unpaid, my hotel allows me to set aside 20 rooms for free. As those rooms fill up, they will add more if they need to. If I wanted to have them set aside more than 20 rooms I would have had to provide my credit card and I would be charged for any rooms not booked.



  • I didn't ask a lot of questions b/c there aren't too many hotels near the venue and I knew this one offered a free shuttle with a minimum of 10 rooms booked. But I would ask if there is any deposit to hold rooms (we could hold 30 for free), and when guests have to reserve the rooms before they are opened up to the general public. (I think at our hotel, they open rooms up to the public 30 days before the wedding.) I did ask if they had a "wedding suite," but they do not, so FI & I are going to stay downtown.
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  • They will give you a contract and I would suggest reading it through a few times. ANYTHING you don't understand just ask. It is always better to be safe than sorry!
  • Any good, reputable hotel will NEVER charge you a deposit/fee to put a block in place (unless you're wanting to reserve a good chunk of the hotel). Also, most do NOT hold you financially responsible for any rooms that don't get reserved. They start by blocking off 10-15 rooms, then add on as necessary.

    I would also go onto the hotel websites and make like you're making a reservation, put in a Corporate/AAA rate since most people would have either one. Then, if the hotel quotes you a rate that's higher- can say that their AAA/Corporate rate is lower and they should match it or go a bit lower. 
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  • My hotel allows us to reserve as many rooms as we want unpaid and we can adjust that amount at any time.  Like some PP, this is the only hotel in the area, so I didn't question a lot.  I asked about the group rate for rooms and suites.  They are giving us about 20% off.

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  • As PPs have said, most will let you not "guarentee" rooms and instead hold them until a certain date before the wedding. Sometimes they offer like $10 less a night if you guarentee them, but who knows if my friends will stay there or find someplace on their own. I wouldn't give them your credit card and be held responsible. 

    Also, I found that some hotel chains online group reservation systems force a guarentee, but if you call the individual hotel, they'll set it up for you without holding you responsible. My hotels also started with 10 rooms and add extra rooms as the others fill.
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  • There are some large hotel chains that require you book a minimum of 80% of the rooms blocked or they charge you difference.  Others don't care.  Pretty much all of them will release the block 30 days prior to the event (i.e. open up those rooms for others to book).  And def. read the contract!  Some will say you're liable for damages caused by guests - we asked for that to be removed and that they held guests liable for their own damages!  We blocked rooms at 3 hotels (different price points) - so have dealt with a lot of different contracts.  

    O and if it's a big chain hotel ask if you can use your number for the block (like your hilton rewards number, or hyatt or marriot rewards or whatever), so that you can rack up hotel points and use them for your next big trip. :)
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