Tips on Reserving Hotel Blocks

tahill2 · December 2011

My FI and I plan to go check out hotel blocks for our OOT guests this weekend and I'm not really sure how it works or what to expect. Do any of you have any inside tips or advice for us? Do we have to call ahead of time or can we just stop by? What things should we be sure to ask about/do/think about? TIA!

fashionx · December 2011

There's not really any inside information to know, but here's what I can think of:

You should have a guesstimate of how many guests might be booking rooms, and know if you need any handicap-accessible rooms. If you have guests who are flying in, find out if they offer airport transportation (some do, some don't). You could call or go in person, either should be fine. If you're not familiar with the hotel you could go in person and ask to see a room so you can make sure it's nice.

Some hotels need a credit card on file but they should not charge you if rooms aren't booked, just if you cancel the block after a certain time period. Also find out when the block is released, meaning after a certain date whatever rooms are not booked by your guests are released to be booked by anyone, or the rate you were given expires. Typically this is a month, sometimes it's 2 weeks. They should let you know if your guests should mention your name/s, or if they have a discount code, whether they can book online or just on the phone, etc.

I didn't do this, but some people do gift bags for their OOT guests, and leave them with the hotel to either give to the guests at check-in, or leave in their rooms for them on their arrival. Some hotels charge a fee for this, so if you plan on doing this you might want to find out what they charge. My hotel said they would charge $2/room, but I ended up not doing anything anyway.

Oh and if you plan on also staying at the same hotel, find out if they comp or discount your room or honeymoon suite if you have a certain number of guests book with them. This can save you some money too!

MobKaz · December 2011

Fashionx covered it well. I would add, (at least in our case), that the more rooms we booked, the more and/or better the perks we received. We had free shuttle service between the hotel and reception venue if 10 or more rooms were booked. If 20 or more rooms were booked, we were also given a small first level banquet room for use. It could have been used for anything from hosting/catering the rehearsal dinner to enjoying breakfast privately as a group.

Our hotel did not charge us for OOT bags. We were able to drop them off a day before guests arrived. Guest names were "flagged", and as they checked in, the clerk knew to hand them an OOT bag.

We did call ahead to speak with a manager. Some hotels have "special" personnel to handle such tasks, and, in our case, only worked a regular 7-4 day, thus preventing us from making arrangements in the evening. It also helped to speak with a few hotels via phone ahead of time. In our case, we were torn on which hotel to use. Knowing what perks they may or may not have offered gave us a little "wiggle room" in negotiating some of those perks.

Golfer09 · December 2011

I would also recommend using hotelplanner.com - hotels will bid for your work and you set the criteria. There is no harm to shopping around so it's nice to see the comparison of how many hotels are willing to get your business and what they are willing to offer.

romamor4 · December 2011

I heard that they charge you to block rooms. Is this true?

hz80408 · December 2011

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_illinois-chicago_tips-reserving-hotel-blocks?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:72Discussion:6a0df0eb-2664-4273-91dc-d7be35839d3dPost:9b8448b4-687d-471c-8729-d03699be712c">Re: Tips on Reserving Hotel Blocks</a>:
[QUOTE]I heard that they charge you to block rooms. Is this true?
Posted by romamor4[/QUOTE]

Typically not; you're bringing them in business. I've never heard that.

I think PP's give some excellent and thorough advice

Cony&Ben · December 2011

I've heard that some hotels will charge you for rooms that remain unbooked but none of the hotels I contacted do that. Just make sure you double check.

tahill2 · December 2011

Thanks so much for the insight everyone! With all of your advice I have a pretty good checklist going now so I feel more knowledgeable going in.

Happy Friday!

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