To room block or not room block? That is the question!

xtinazeternity · March 2011

Ahhh! I have been missing the knot- started a new job a month ago and havent had time even think about wedding stuff and I miss it! Theres so many newbies on here now since Ive last lurked!

What is the advantage of having a block of rooms?

What IS a block of rooms anyway? Do you have to pay to reserve them? What if not enough guests want to take the rooms you have blocked- do you risk losing $?

So confused! I don't know if its wise to take advantage of that. Planet Hollywood quoted me a good price- I am just wondering if my guests can get an even better deal on smartervegas.com. They have better deals out there now- the problem is you cant book that far in advance. Plus, I want my guests to stay wherever they want- they dont have to stay where we stay (although some will want to).

So- to room block or not room block? That is the question!

aerinpegadrak · March 2011

Reserving a block of rooms sets aside a certain number of rooms for your guests, usually at a discounted price. Generally, you're not financially responsible for the rooms, and they'll be released for general booking within a certaim time window of the wedding. The hotel should be able to give you more specifics on their policy, as it varies.

In Vegas, I really think the only reason to do a block of rooms is if your wedding is on a holiday, if there's a major event in town that will cause higher than usual occupancy, or if you have some particular reason that you want to encourage your guests to all stay at the same location. Generally, the hotels aren't going to offer a better deal through the room block than you can get elsewhere, and I personally didn't want my guests to feel obligated to stay at the "approved" hotel(s). Instead of blocking rooms, I did a write-up on my website listing the closest hotels (we were at MB, so I listed all the hotels near the corner of Las Vegas and Tropicana), pointing out good comparison guides and discount sites, and detailing the various ways of getting around for people who were staying further away.

erinkay81 · March 2011

I did a block of rooms for my guests because most will be staying at MB where our reception and day before events are being held. The rate is set, and the rooms are set and I am not financially responsible if no one books them (as of now, most guests have used them). 30 days prior to the wedding the rooms will expire and not be book-able. I like it because it is easy for guests to book and they are ensured a lower rate, if they cannot find one online. I do update our website regularly with deals that I have found at other hotels on the strip so there are options for our guests.

LilMissScareAll · March 2011

We have a room block at the Platinum Hotel. They guarantee a rate for our guest up until Sept 14th (1 month before the wedding). I'm putting it on our website as well as a link to smartervegas. I'll also put some other ways to get good rates ("like" a hotel on FB, sign the guestbook on their website). They only reason I'm doing a room block is b/c I know my parents and grandparents will want to stay at there and I believe Ben's aunt, uncle and grandma plan on staying there too.
I think my friends would rather stay on the strip. Will probably stay on the strip other than the night before & night of the wedding.

smokeybailey · March 2011

I did a room block at our hotel as the prices are $20 off rack rate per night. You aren't going to find that kind of special for those rooms on any other site. Plus we are trying to encourage our guests to all stay in the same hotel (which I am sure is going to be the case).

A room block is free; I don't know why you wouldn't do it.

vegasgroom · March 2011

Yeah, no reason not to do a room block; it's free and it helps your guests that procrastinated on booking their room that also want to stay at the wedding reception location because they can get a room at an agreed upon rate that will probably be cheaper than what they can find online if the actually did wait until five or six weeks prior to wedding date to book. Everyone who books earlier of course will get much better rates wherever they want to stay.

bcschuman · March 2011

I am glad we did ours because the week of our wedding there is a convention at MB and the rates are RIDICULOUS! Our rate is a bit cheaper then what you find on sites although a few people have found better deals and I have encouraged them to take advantage! The rest of our guests are staying at Luxor or Excalibur.

Sara191431 · March 2011

Not to hijack post but...

bcschuman - I had paged you about your drink recipe but didn't get a response....care to share still?:) Or you could just PM me it...thanks!

kteel717 · March 2011

Our wedding is at CP and the room rates were so expensive, even with the 10% discount. We wanted to be close to there though and ended up getting an amazing discounted rate W-Sun. for our guests to stay at Bellagio. Its just nice to offer at least and then most people end up booking there so everyone is in the same place, good and easy to meet up. We don't get penalized or have to pay if all the rooms aren't booked, so it was a no brainer for us and nice convienence for our guests.

Natrasha · March 2011

I have a room block through Harrahs/Caesars Total Experiences for Imperial Palace. I was told that they like to have a minimum of 5 rooms booked, but he didn't take my credit card or anything like that. I got a pretty good rate, though IP is cheap as balls anyway. I also have a block at the Platinum, and there are no obligations there.

I think my guests appreciate the guidance, especially if they haven't been to Vegas before.

queenklm33 · March 2011

If you are looking at Planet Hollywood, you should defintely setup a block through Total Experience.
http://www.totalexperiences.com/totalexperiences/
My room block rates are about 30% cheaper than rack rates for my wedding in July. I have not seen any deals online, or through their player's club, that are cheaper than my room block.
As previous posters have said, it doesn't cost you anything, and you are not held liable for unused rooms, they roll back to the hotel 30 days from your dates.
We don't care where any of our guests stay, but at least half of them want to stay in the same casino that we will be at for a variety of reasons.

theanglfac · March 2011

One thing our coordinator mentioned and I am not sure if this is true at all hotels, but if you want them to deliver welcome bags or something if they are in your room block it shows up in the front desk computer to give your guests the welcome bag. So that may be helpful.

MeatAuditor · March 2011

Room blocks matter if the hotel will be near 100% occupancy, if you need a huge amount of rooms, or if you want to lock in a set rate. Rates change weekly and can go up or down.

Before the recession, hotels charged MORE per night for blocked rooms than if people just went to a website on their own and booked it as an individual traveler. It has since gotten better, but do not assume you are getting a discount just because it's a group. Do some internet price comparisons and be sure. Even then, if your date turns out to be a slow business period, the hotel may drop the going rate. You'll still be stuck with your group rate.

The hotels justify it because the higher rate guarantees rooms for your guests. But most of the time, they aren't at full capacity anyway.

If it was me, I would just notify guests of where the bride and groom are staying. It would be up to them to book there if they want.

If you do a group block, get it in writing from the hotel. Awhile back there was a post from someone whose hotel forgot to block the rooms and then refused to honor the earlier group rate on a new block.

smokeybailey · March 2011

Our block numbers and rate (which is discounted) are in our contract. There is no fee. Also, if I fill 16 of the 30 rooms we get a free upgrade. Oh, and our guests get a coupon book. They are pretty good coupons too. Like BOGO buffets and match play.

drkarie · March 2011

When I called Luxor to do a room block, the rate was ridiculous and not that much better than I was finding online. They told me they would need my credit card and any unused rooms would be charged to my card! I decided against a room block at that point. I guess it varies by hotel, since no one else seemed to be charged a fee...

My wedding is March Madness weekend though, so room rates were triple that weekend than the previous and following weeks.

OnCloudK9 · March 2011

I got an email from MB about a room block...

"You can block rooms by contacting our Ad-Hoc department at 702-632-7003 or mbhadhoc@mandalaybay.com . You can block rooms in increments of ten or more. Blocking rooms does not assure you a discount but rather a “fixed” rate that does not fluctuate based on occupancy. This discount only applies if at least 10 rooms from your block are booked. "

We only have 10 people in our group and wouldn't meet the 10 room minimum. However, I went ahead and called to see about getting a block and found the rates to be way HIGHER than the coupon code I found (PSPRB). For example, they gave me a rate of $209.99 on July 2nd for the room block, where with the code it's only $159.99. I emailed everyone the code and they used that instead.

Sara191431 · March 2011

Dude, I'm never going to get that drink recipe, damn it!;)

To room block or not room block? That is the question!

Re: To room block or not room block? That is the question!

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