Estimating room blocks - as an OOT guest, what would you prefer?

OjitosVerdes

Hey all - we are reserving rooms at two hotels - a block at the resort where we are getting married, and another block at a hotel about 15 minutes away. Both are in the middle of nowhere, and there aren't really many other choices 

The rooms at our venue are expensive for our area - they range in price between $165 and $255.  

The rooms at the other hotel, which is still very nice, range in price from $89 to $189. 

We are having a hard time guessing where people will want to stay - at the venue where they won't have to drive, but will have to pay more, or at the place a little farther away that is cheaper.  15 minutes isn't an awful drive, but there is an immigration checkpoint that everyone will have to go through who leaves the venue. While no one should be drinking and driving, I think this could still be a little off-putting to some. We're giving everyone a head's up about the checkpoint via our wedding website. 

The other factor that is complicating things is that our venue requires that we guarantee 80% of the rooms we block - meaning that if 80% of the rooms aren't reserved, even if we release them a couple months in advance, FI and I are still financially responsible. If this weren't the case, we'd probably split the blocks evenly between the two hotels and just increase or decrease the block closer to the wedding. But decreasing it at the venue isn't an option, and we're worried about getting stuck with the bill. 

So my question for you as we try to estimate this is - as a guest, would you rather pay more to stay at the venue, or drive to save money? 

OjitosVerdes

Second question - as a bride, if it were in your budget, would you arrange a shuttle to pick up and return your guests to the more distant hotel so driving isn't a problem? 

wittykitty14

15 minutes isn't far, especially where I'm from.  I prefer to save money wherever I can, so I'd stay at the cheaper one.  The only exception would be if there wasn't a significant difference in price, but that's not the case here.

To the second, as a guest, I would not expect any type of shuttle service back to the hotel.  However, it would be appreciated.  If you're going to have alcohol, arranging for transportation is always a good idea.  Just make sure that your guests know so they can plan accordingly!

OjitosVerdes

Thanks, Witty! Follow up question - the shuttles are somewhat complicated in that since we are in the middle of nowhere, we would have to hire them from a city about an hour away, and they must be reserved in two hour blocks. If we arranged transportation to and from the wedding, it could get expensive. Would it be alright to just provide transportation back to the hotel? Guests would have to carpool there, that way some still had their cars at the more distant hotel, so they could bring people back the next day to pick up their cars. It would save us money, but kinda seems like a logistical nightmare. Although I know people are adults and can figure it out. 

lyndausvi

As an OOT guest I always pick the hotel closest to the venue.  Better if it's the same place.  

I'm always a fan of shuttles if you can afford them.   I'm might be bias since we had one.

OjitosVerdes

lyndausvi said:

As an OOT guest I always pick the hotel closest to the venue.  Better if it's the same place.  

I'm always a fan of shuttles if you can afford them.   I'm might be bias since we had one.

What about providing a shuttle home, but guests would have to carpool there? Or is that just a huge inconvenience? 

tammym1001

As a guest if I was travelling to a location I wasn't familiar with and had to go through a checkpoint as well I would absolutely stay at the venue even if it was twice as expensive. That would just be too much hassle for me.

If you got a shuttle would all the people on it have to sit there and wait while they check everyone on the shuttle at the checkpoint? That could take a long time.

lyndausvi

Have the shuttle round-trip.  No one wants to ride a one-way shuttle then have to figure out how to get the car the next morning.

OjitosVerdes

tammym1001 said:

As a guest if I was travelling to a location I wasn't familiar with and had to go through a checkpoint as well I would absolutely stay at the venue even if it was twice as expensive. That would just be too much hassle for me.

If you got a shuttle would all the people on it have to sit there and wait while they check everyone on the shuttle at the checkpoint? That could take a long time.

Yes, the shuttles would be checked. The "shuttles" are actually vans so I think they'd probably have a max of 10 people in them, but still. Additionally, a bunch of our friends are from other countries and are here in the US on work visas, so that could delay them at the checkpoint. 

Another thing we've considered is taking the money we would spend on shuttles, and applying it to the block of rooms at the venue so they're a little cheaper for people. 

daveANDkristen

We would probably pick the cheaper/further away hotel. I would not expect shuttle service but would greatly appreciate it!

OjitosVerdes

Alright - thanks ladies! I'm guessing we'll have friends/family that lean both ways. What we'll probably do is reserve a very small block at the venue and increase it if necessary.  The manager will let us add rooms to the block, but not delete, so we'll just increase as necessary. 

One more shuttle question - how would you all go about finding out who would utilize a shuttle and who wouldn't? I thought about adding an RSVP feature to our wedding webpage that people could use to "request" the shuttle. I know not everyone uses websites, but those that would are probably the ones that would want the shuttle. (Our younger, drunker friends).

StephJean83

Like Lynda said try to provide round trip. My sisters both offered round trip from the hotels to the venue after the ceremony. A shuttle is a must have in my budget since I won't have a hotel reception.

As for the first question I would pick the cheaper hotel because chances are I would come in the day before and would rather save where we can.

lyndausvi

We created a special email address and in the invite packet asked for people to email us if they were going to use the shuttle. Some people just told us via word of mouth. It really wasn't a reservation per se, just for use to get an ideal of how many people would use the shuttle.  Which turned out to be 70-80% of the guests.

OjitosVerdes

lyndausvi said:

We created a special email address and in the invite packet asked for people to email us if they were going to use the shuttle. Some people just told us via word of mouth. It really wasn't a reservation per se, just for use to get an ideal of how many people would use the shuttle.  Which turned out to be 70-80% of the guests.

Great idea! 

BostonGIrl4732

If you're going to do the shuttle, you really should do it round trip.  I'd never carpool with someone and then take a shuttle later.  That's just odd to me.

MsYeck

I would make call some churches in the middle of nowhere. Churches frequently have passenger vans and may do it for a fraction of the cost

StephJean83

BostonGIrl4732 said:

If you're going to do the shuttle, you really should do it round trip.  I'd never carpool with someone and then take a shuttle later.  That's just odd to me.

We did that last fall at a wedding. The couple only offered a shuttle back at the end of the night so we carpooled with a couple we knew the wife and daughter would head back to the hotel early. The alternative was FH not drinking or us getting a ride back in the morning to get the car.

OjitosVerdes

MsYeck said:

I would make call some churches in the middle of nowhere. Churches frequently have passenger vans and may do it for a fraction of the cost

This is a great idea, too. 

Yes, I think if we do the shuttle we'll definitely provide transportation both ways. At most weddings I attend that don't have shuttles, I carpool with friends and then we take taxis back to the hotel together, but I agree it would be weird to only provide transportation one way. 

KDM323

I don't know what your budget is but what if you were to pay a certain percentage for the block of rooms at the closer hotel so that way it would make that option more affordable for your guests?  Rather than waste money on a shuttle that people may/may not use...put that money towards the rooms in that block.  Then your guests may be able to all afford to stay there?

Then...the majority of your guests could stay at the closer venue and you could completely eliminate the need for a shuttle, the 15 minute drive and the checkpoint hassle?

OjitosVerdes

drexelkathy said:

I don't know what your budget is but what if you were to pay a certain percentage for the block of rooms at the closer hotel so that way it would make that option more affordable for your guests?  Rather than waste money on a shuttle that people may/may not use...put that money towards the rooms in that block.  Then your guests may be able to all afford to stay there?

Then...the majority of your guests could stay at the closer venue and you could completely eliminate the need for a shuttle, the 15 minute drive and the checkpoint hassle?

We've thought about this - although bringing the block rate of the room down so it is comparable with the other hotel would be about $140 per room for both nights - multiplied by the 35 - 45 rooms that we expect people to reserve would bring the cost to almost $7,000. :-S We put aside about $1500 for the shuttle and could definitely apply that to the block, although I don't know that it would bring the prices down enough that it would sway people's decisions - it would lower the room price about $20/night. 

wrigleyville

Random question: does their work visa allow them to leave the country? When my friend was on a fiancee visa (or whatever it's called), she wasn't allowed to leave the U.S. for an amount of time I can't remember - it might have been a year.

If I were here on a work visa that could be a hassle at the border, I'd definitely pay to stay at the venue, even though it's more expensive. I don't mind paying a bit more for convenience.

I like the idea of scrapping the shuttles and using that money to help pay for the block of rooms.

OjitosVerdes

wrigleyville said:

Random question: does their work visa allow them to leave the country? When my friend was on a fiancee visa (or whatever it's called), she wasn't allowed to leave the U.S. for an amount of time I can't remember - it might have been a year.

If I were here on a work visa that could be a hassle at the border, I'd definitely pay to stay at the venue, even though it's more expensive. I don't mind paying a bit more for convenience.

I like the idea of scrapping the shuttles and using that money to help pay for the block of rooms.

The checkpoint is an hour north of the Arizona/Mexico border, and they won't be leaving the country. (Welcome to Arizona!!!) I agree with you though - I'd stay at the venue, too, and have been letting my international friends know via word of mouth that the checkpoint could be a hassle. 

lyndausvi

wrigleyville said:

Random question: does their work visa allow them to leave the country? When my friend was on a fiancee visa (or whatever it's called), she wasn't allowed to leave the U.S. for an amount of time I can't remember - it might have been a year.

If I were here on a work visa that could be a hassle at the border, I'd definitely pay to stay at the venue, even though it's more expensive. I don't mind paying a bit more for convenience.

I like the idea of scrapping the shuttles and using that money to help pay for the block of rooms.

It depends on the visa.   There lots of different visas out there.  All having different stipulations.

OjitosVerdes

At this checkpoint I've never been asked for any identification. The agents poke their heads in your car, get a good look at you, and ask everyone to verbally answer whether or not they are a citizen. 

But a bunch of our friends aren't, and in addition they are suspiciously brown and have accents. (sarcasm font) Arizona isn't exactly known for for its sane politics. So they will most definitely be asked for their passports. 

wrigleyville

Ohhhhhhhhh. When you said "immigration checkpoint", I pictured an actual border crossing, like U.S. into Canada. When I lived in Detroit, I went to a couple weddings in Windsor, which is just across the river, so that's where my brain went with that. Sorry.

Now that I know what you mean, I'd go with the cheaper hotel. I've never been through an immigration checkpoint, though. I guess it depends on time. Border crossing can take an hour or so. If the checkpoint only takes 10-15 minutes, that wouldn't bother me.

OjitosVerdes

LOL - no, that would make perfect sense that it would be on the border! But in Arizona, checkpoints at the border aren't enough to ease people's fears, so they are also scattered throughout the state. 

Kate61487

I'd likely stay at the cheaper hotel; a 15 minute drive is nothing to me.  The shuttle would be nice; I'd just make sure you have enough shuttles that you don't end up with 20 people waiting at the end of the night for the shuttle to make multiple trips through the checkpoint.

NYCBride2013

I would stay at the resort where the wedding is being held for conveniences sake.  While I am normally pro-shuttle, I think that since you are giving an option where people would not have to drive, a shuttle is not necessary.  If there ends up being a significant amount of people who book with that hotel and you have the $1500 left in the budget than definitely do it.

dmaloof

Hi there! When I was reserving rooms for my guests, I mainly looked at what was the closest to the venue and then at price. It something was more than what I would want to pay for a night, then I threw it out as an idea. Typically I will only pay about $80-$150 a night. I also talked it over with my parents and MOH to see what they had to say about our choice of a hotel. We did not budget a shuttle, because we felt that it would not be necessary. Our wedding is in 41 days, so we'll see how everything goes :-)

annathy03

I would stay at the hotel your wedding is at, for convenience. I agree you don't need to provide a shuttle since you've given guests this option, and NYC is right on that you can always decide to get it if a significant number book the other hotel. We are still looking for venues and prefer a hotel not only to avoid shuttle cost but also so if a guest consumes far too much of the open bar they don't need to wait for a shuttle at the end of the event, they can go to their room at anytime.

Gisellerina

@OjitosVerdes I'd rather stay at the hotel where the wedding is - more so, knowing about the checkpoint situation.  (Actually, much much more so - I'm in Arizona too!!!)  We had to guarantee 75% of our room block, so we have the same worry.