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Hotel for guests - how far is too far? Or too much?

theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
in Wedding Etiquette Forum
Hi all... FI and I are about a month into planning our 9/13/14 wedding and hit a major speed bump. Our venue is evidently in a black hole as far as nice hotels are concerned - it's in Detroit proper, at a super nice private golf club but in a sort of "diamond in the rough" neighborhood. The only hotels directly nearby are fleabag motels. We knew this going into it, and had planned on blocking rooms at a Courtyard by Marriott in a nearby suburb (about 15 minutes away) which would have offered a shuttle for our guests (a really big priority for me) but it turns out the hotel coordinator quoted us the wrong hotel and the one we want doesn't actually have availability. What do we sacrifice in order to get rooms blocked? Our choices include dingy Comfort Inns (ick), ones that are a 20+ minute drive away, don't offer a shuttle, cost 20% more than the average, or are in nice downtown Detroit but charge $20/night to valet your car with no other parking options. What should the fairest priority be? Or do we skip blocking rooms (and in doing so, nix the shuttle) and count on guests who need a hotel to book based on their own preference? Guests will be paying for their own rooms and we don't have it in the budget to charter our own bus.
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Re: Hotel for guests - how far is too far? Or too much?

  • STARMOON44STARMOON44 member
    First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    I'd block rooms at one fancy place downtown and one in the suburbs, to make sure they have options, and not worry about the shuttle. If they plan to be drunk enough to not be able to drive, they will likely opt for downtown and a cab.

    That's a home game weekend for U of M football, so my priority in you position would be making sure they can get rooms somewhere.
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  • InkdancerInkdancer member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    I think going 20 minutes away is okay. Any more than 30 would be more awkward, but if you can get something in the 20 to 25 minute range with a shuttle, you should be all set.
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  • MrsAitchMrsAitch member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    I would go with the 20 minute away non-downtown ones. Have you looked at first student for chartering a bus? It will be a school bus, but it will be SO MUCH cheaper.
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    @MrsAitch I'd never heard of them before, but I'll definitely look into it! Thanks!

    @STARMOON44 I'm not terribly worried about the Michigan game. We did check the football schedule before we booked, but we're a solid hour away from the Big House, and in my experience, Michigan games (aside from homecoming/MSU/OSU) don't draw a heck of a lot of overnight guests. The ones who do stay tend to stay at the casinos, which I already plan to stay away from.
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  • J9lawrenceJ9lawrence member
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    I would do a room block at both options. That way your guests can stay where they are comfortable.
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  • EverAferEverAfer member
    5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    I would be ok with the downtown hotel and $20 to valet. That's kinda cheap for where I used to live, so I would jump on that. But that's me.

    What's your crowd like?
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  • WildMageletWildMagelet member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment First Answer
    I would do a block at both options and let them pick.  I would probably stay in the nicer area with the valet parking.

    We picked a group of hotels that were a little further away (15 minutes from the venue, versus 11 minutes to the other close decent hotel chain) because it is in a nicer area, has more shopping + dining options, is easier to find for OOT guests and we can schedule the hotel shuttles.
    Formerly known as flutterbride2b
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  • happywigglehappywiggle member
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    I would be okay for a decent room rate and $20 valet. Where I live, the rooms can be $300+/night with $40-50 per night parking.
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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    Can you just provide a list of a few recommend hotels that are in different price ranges & then just let the guests pick what works for them?
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  • melbensomelbenso member
    First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its First Comment
    FI and I had a similar problem.  We are getting married at a state park about 30 miles outside the city we live in.  We booked a block of rooms at the park lodge, but also wanted to give people an option closer to the city (if they were staying for a couple days and dreaded hanging out in a state park the whole time) and less expensive (for our guests on a tighter budget). Most of our guests will be coming in from out of town.  We identified a suburb of the city that is about a 15 minute drive from the city and a 30 minute drive from the park  (nothing closer to the park had hotels), but had a really hard time finding a hotel that fit our needs.  They were either too expensive, not nice enough for me to want to suggest a friend or family member stay there, or they wanted a guaranteed number of rooms booked and that number was above what I would be sure would not stay at the park.

    In doing this research, I discovered that the difference between the blocked room rate I was being quoted and the rate available on most travel websites was about $10 for at least two of the hotels.  Rather than book a block of rooms at a hotel that I didn't think would suit my guests needs, I am providing information on a couple of hotel options in that suburb in the insert with our invite.  This information includes a link to a travel site that compares the best rates from various travel sites on different hotels (with the city selected via the link - you can use bitly.com to shrink down a long, complicated link to something less than 15 characters long to make it easier to type in).  This way my guests can decide which hotel option works best for them, but I have provided enough information that they aren't completely in the dark. 

    I suggest you book a block of rooms at one of the hotels you have an option for, perhaps the fancy one downtown, and provide guests with some information on how to find a suitable hotel nearby to make it easier for them if the hotel you book doesn't suit their needs.
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  • vt&dtvt&dt member
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    I'd also reserve a block at both and list the price and hotel website on your invitations.

    Some of your guests might prefer to stay closer, even if it's more expensive, and some would likely rather stay a little farther out for a lower price.

    We blocked rooms at two hotels near our location - one is BEAUTIFUL and newer, the other is nice and clean, but less expensive.  We'll likely have guests that prefer one over the other :)
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited January 2014
    Thanks everyone. $20 a night is actually pretty expensive to valet in Detroit... just because downtown is the ONLY area in the metro area where you can't self park if you want to. For those who aren't familiar with the area, it's not necessarily nicer or closer than the 'burbs, nor does it have much more to do (the 'burbs are pretty upscale), it's just far nicer than the direct area around the venue. 

    BUT... I found a Hilton within 20 minutes with a shuttle (and breakfast, $109 for a king room, whoop! plus it's within 10 minutes of the FMIL's house) so I'll have the block and "getting ready" suite there. I do like to promote the resurgence of the downtown area as much as I can though, so I think I will recommend a nice place or two downtown in addition to that. They'll just have to choose the convenience of the shuttle hotel at 109 versus the experience of the urban scene at probably 150-160 out the door.
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  • InkdancerInkdancer member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    Awesome! Good luck with the rest of your planning, sounds like you're trying to be very considerate of your guests.
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
    Thanks @inkdancer, I'm trying! We've all waited a long time for this; I want their day to be just as awesome as mine. :)
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  • theartistformerlyknownastheartistformerlyknownas member
    First Comment First Anniversary First Answer 5 Love Its
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    Who me? :)
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