Another Room Block Question...

hughe046 · September 2009

Okay, despite trying to avoid major events in New Orleans...apparently no hotel will give us a room block for our March 13th weekend because there is a major medical conference happening and they have blocks already. We are an OOT crew (Birmingham), but most people are super comfortable with the city from football games, sorority formals, etc. What I want to ask is this: Is it terrible to NOT have a room block in a town like NOLA with tons of options? We are getting married in Jackson Square and the reception is 20 feet away at Muriels...

erin_alane · September 2009

I'm still debating that myself. I certainly think it's a nice gesture, but it's not the end of the world if you don't have room blocks. In the age of the internet and hotels.com, people can definitely take care of booking rooms themselves. I've heard from quite a few people that the rooms in their block weren't even used because guests found a cheaper rate online.

maccalovah · September 2009

I would be a little nervous about this...I can tell you that the hotel prices for that weekend are going to be outrageous because that is the weekend that St. Patrick's day is celebrated, with tons of parades, etc. I am getting married the weekend after that, but we are coming into town early for that weekend- the cheapest hotel price i was able to get was $250 a night at the Place d'Armes!!!

maccalovah · September 2009

But that being said, I think if you give your guests the heads up, I'm sure a website like hotels.com, etc would be extremely helpful. Good luck!

LinAv · September 2009

We didn't have room blocks, and a lot of us still wound up staying at the same hotel =)Have them look into priceline's name your own price if they want a good deal. Hubs and I just came in town for the Saints game and we stayed at the Hilton St. Charles for $45 a night

hughe046 · September 2009

Thanks for the posts y'all- our other weekend, May 1st, was JazzFest and the rooms were out of control then too. March 13th was the lesser of the two evils. I may just tell everyone to book as early as they can. Thank you all so much!!

Loserasanartform · September 2009

We picked a couple of hotels that we liked and put the information on our wedding website as well as sent a small insert about the two hotels with our invitations (only went in the OOT guest invites.) I don't think the hotel block is necessary as long as you give your guests a couple of good recommendations. If you really wanted to do a room block you might think about checking out the Holiday Inn Westbank Tower...it's just across the river and has some awesome views of the city. Good price and probably won't book up as quickly since it's just outside the city. HTH!-Amber

meganfauer · September 2009

I have to say that I had room blocks but everyone found better rates online. In fact the Royal Sonesta that we had a room block on had a cheaper rateonline and they could not match that b/c it was an "online special" only. My fiance and whole group and family was coming in from Birmingham too. BUt i think that there are so many hotel options you could suggest a few places and then people can find them on their own and heck hotels.com and such have such great deals too again they end up being better than the room block rates, i am speaking from my personal experience from my wedding this past May. Best of luck

roteki · September 2009

I had the same experience with March 13 with the room blocks being much tougher. What I was told by a few doctors attending the conference is that most of the attendees leave on Friday, but the rooms are blocked through the weekend. That means as it gets closer, some hotels will hopefully release those rooms. It is a bit of a crap shoot, but its possible. BTW, I seem to remember the Intercontinental had decent rates that weekend comparatively.

hughe046 · September 2009

Ah geez- and, duh, its St Patricks Day!! How big is St Pattys day in NOLA?

meganfauer · September 2009

In my memory of growing up there I remember Saint Patricks Day being fun and talked about but it is no where liked when I lived in Chicago and what I have seen from Boston. But in NOLA they just party all the time. haha!

meganfauer · September 2009

There will be parades that weekend so you will need to watch out for that if you are driving all over the city. My best friend got married on March 12th 4 years ago and it was fine. We did get stuck by a parade in a limo on St Charles ave trying to get the the church. But the quarter and stuff was not a mob scene or anything.

maccalovah · September 2009

I think the crowds are larger than a "regular" weekend, but the hotel prices are definitely much higher, which is what I might be worried about. You will be fine though- just give your guests ample time to make reservations!

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