Hotel Room Blocking

Re: Hotel Room Blocking

• Avion22 member

  

  March 2012

  1.  Go through your guest list and try to figure out who you think will be staying in a hotel, as opposed to who will be driving back home after the wedding.

  
  

  2.  This all depends on your guest list.  I would recommend blocking hotel rooms at at least two different price points (one maybe $120 or less) to accomodate those with smaller budgets.

  
  

  3.  I blocked at Hampton Inn and Suites, and they gave our guests a discount on rooms booked through our block.  A month before the wedding the block closed and rooms were released back to the public.  With the block, I think we got a decent discount on the bridal/honeymoon suite.

  
  

  4.   20-25 min should be okay.  You might also look at the possibility of providing a shuttle or transportation between the hotel and the wedding (and back to the hotel) if your budget allows.  This reduces the need for designated drivers.

  

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• MattsPenguin member

  

  March 2012

  I'd look for hotels near your reception site (to make it easier to get home at the end of the night).  Given that you live in the Northeast, it might be hard to find rooms under $100.
  
  Call hotels near the reception and ask what their room blocking policies are.  They should be able to give you some sort of discount without any upfront costs from you.  If they don't, go find another hotel.
  
  As far as how many, I'd estimate how many you think that you will need (overestimate) and tell the hotel.  They might only block of rooms 10 at a time, you'd have to ask.  Typically you can keep track of how many rooms are available in your block and how many have been reserved.  If you need more, just call the hotel to add more to your block.
  
  Room blocks typically expire about a month before the event.  After that, the discount is no longer valid.
  
  Start with calling hotels.

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• ccollins327

  

  March 2012

  I agree with everything everyone else has said.

  
  

  I also wanted to add to check Trip Advisor (tripadvisor.com). I'm having my wedding during peak season and hotels are really expensive. I found a motel that the pictures didn't look to great, but it had rave reviews on trip advisor so I went ahead and did a block there. 

  
  

  Also, try asking your ceremony/reception venue if they have any hotel recommendations. My venue had a list, and some offered discounts/shuttle service if you mentioned you were having your wedding at the venue.

  

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• Meegles4 member

  

  March 2012

  1. Block off as many as the hotel lets you (might only be 10 or 20) and go from there. You should be able to add rooms if the block fills up and the hotel still has availability. FWIW, I invited 200 people, and my entire family is out of state, and we are still only using about 20 hotel rooms -- and that includes family and friends. It really all just depends. 
  
  2.  $100 is pretty cheap these days for a hotel, especially in major cities/populated areas. My hotels, in downtown Detroit are over $100 -- and that's for a Holiday Inn. Again, this depends on your area. Find the best deal you can at a decent hotel and your guests will decide whether they want to spend that or not.
  
  3. Most hotels will offer a group rate for weddings. Just call them and ask to speak to their group sales manager.
  
  4. 20 minutes is fine. Get as close as you can while still being a decent hotel
  
  Honestly, for me, the hotel blocking was the easiest thing and took me approximately 20 minutes (and that's including time to call them a few times to open up more rooms, check room status, etc.) This isn't rocket science.

  Items for sale & Detroit vendor Reviews:
  www.detroitwedding.weebly.com
  

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