Hotel room blocks

AMYM312 · February 2012

can someone please educate me on room blocks? When do you block them? After STDs go out? Does the hotel require a deposit? Do I have to pay if not all of the rooms get rented? I posted this last night but TK ate it. Thanks guys!

ginadog · February 2012

It really depends on the hotel.

Some will block X number of rooms without any charge. They typically release all those rooms back to the public 30 days prior or something like that.

Other hotels want at least one night's fee upfront for each room blocked. I just politely thanked them for their time and said good bye!

Other hotels just offer a discounted rate but they don't set aside a certain number.

My STD's were sent out 9 months in advance. However, I did not even look into room booking until 5 months out, because initially I wasn't going to do it, then I had some down time so I looked into it. It was quite easy. Then I updated my wedding website with the new information about those hotels.

There would have been an insert in the invitation about the room blocks as well.

All in all, I had 10 rooms blocked at Super 8, 10 rooms blocked at Motel 6 and a discount at a resort type place (that's for 25 invited households).

LeiselEB · February 2012

Block them as soon as you're able to so that people can make plans when STD's go out - we put the hotel info on our wedding website and then had the website printed on the STD's. It's really an easy process

Many hotels will hold you responsible for rooms not booked, which I think is silly, and so I did NOT block any rooms at hotels that did that - there are plenty of hotels that won't hold you accountable for unbooked rooms, they will just release those rooms at a certain date (so make sure to tell guests to book by that date, just in case)

We went with a Wingate by Wyndham, which blocked 10 rooms and did not hold us accountable for those rooms if they weren't booked. They also offered free shuttle transportation to and from all weddign events for guests staying there - might be something to look into.

Call several hotels, ask them to email you their contracts, read them carefully and see what works best for you/your guests.

lmcshay · February 2012

When speaking to hotels request a "courtesy hold" in most cases this includes 10-20 rooms which will be held in a block at no penalty or obligation to you. Be sure to inquire about room configuration and include a mix of king and double beds to accommodate your guests. The only catch is any rooms left unbooked 30 days prior to your event will be released back to the hotel. You won't have to pay for them but they won't be available to your guests at the discounted rate. Because of this cutoff I suggest including room block information in your save the date. Before you send out the invitations check on the status of your room block and add more rooms if necessary.

Summer2011Bride · February 2012

We booked with Hampton Inn and it was very easy and pain-free. They required no deposit, and I'd probably not book with one that required one, since so many hotels do not do this. Look around a little bit.

They let us book up to 20 rooms and then if those filled, we could add more. Be sure also to book a variety of rooms--some with one king, some with two doubles, etc. We did our hotel block in Dec. for our July wedding (STDs went out in Jan). I would definitely have it set up prior to STDs so you can put room block info on them or on a website, etc.

With Hampton Inn, any unblocked rooms were released to the general public 30 days prior to the wedding, and wedding guests could no longer get the special rate if they booked after that. So on our wedding website, I also mentioned that rooms should be booked by June 20. Hampton Inn also gave us our own webpage through them so guests could book online and still get our rate.

There are many hotels that will do this; I'm just giving you our experience and showing what some hotels will do, so if you are unsatisfied with one, keep looking.

dawnp917 · February 2012

Different rooms have different policies on room blocks. We booked our rooms in December for our August wedding. The only reason we booked so early is that the weekend we are getting married there is a large event occurring in Seattle. As a result the prices on all the hotel rooms was a little bit higher than usual and most will sell out quickly.

Check event calendars for your city as well as if there are any events at convention centers as this could impact room availability.

Most hotels will offer a discount off the rack rate, in some instance the pre-paid rate at a hotel will be less expensive than the discount provided. Be sure to check that out.

dori851 · February 2012

Like PPs said, it all depends on the hotel. With the hotel we booked, I called them about 10 months out from our wedding date. I booked a certain number of rooms for Friday night (the night before the wedding) & Saturday night (the wedding night). They told me that if our guests booked their room before April 21st, they would get the discounted rate. After April 21st, they would let all unbooked rooms be open for the public to book. We did not have to pay a fee for the block & we do not have to pay for the unbooked rooms at all.

I would definitely call around to different hotels & see which one offers the best discount rate, & see what their policies are with blocking rooms.

Meegles4 · February 2012

Hotel blocking was one of the easiest things about wedding planning! Call up their sales dept. and they'll coordinate the block. It's usually a set number of rooms. My hotels (Westin and Holiday Inn) are giving me until 2-3 weeks before the wedding before they release them, so definitely less than the 30 day window some PPs describe. I also didn't have to pay a deposit.

I blocked them well before my STDs went out, just to get it done and since we live in a large city I wanted to be ahead of the game. Also, I found that one of my hotels ran out of rooms in my block, but a quick call opened up more, so don't necessarily feel limited by the initial max they give you.

amymaysa · February 2012

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_hotel-room-blocks-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:a5612d81-822c-446f-b7b3-8261004ab051Post:ea9d506f-eed2-41db-8432-5d68fb1cf82d">Re: Hotel room blocks</a>:
[QUOTE]We booked with Hampton Inn and it was very easy and pain-free. They required no deposit, and I'd probably not book with one that required one, since so many hotels do not do this. Look around a little bit. They let us book up to 20 rooms and then if those filled, we could add more. Be sure also to book a variety of rooms--some with one king, some with two doubles, etc. We did our hotel block in Dec. for our July wedding (STDs went out in Jan). I would definitely have it set up prior to STDs so you can put room block info on them or on a website, etc. With Hampton Inn, any unblocked rooms were released to the general public 30 days prior to the wedding, and wedding guests could no longer get the special rate if they booked after that. So on our wedding website, I also mentioned that rooms should be booked by June 20. Hampton Inn also gave us our own webpage through them so guests could book online and still get our rate. There are many hotels that will do this; I'm just giving you our experience and showing what some hotels will do, so if you are unsatisfied with one, keep looking.
Posted by Summer2011Bride[/QUOTE]

This is what we ended up doing...we went with a local hotel and a residence inn. Neither required a deposit, which is part of the reason we choose them.
The rooms get released a month before the wedding, if not booked.
We blocked them before sending save the dates b/c I know some people are like me, and if you know you're going to the wedding, I just book the room as soon as I get the info.

nlindsay17 · February 2012

We had 34 rooms booked for my DD's wedding. We used Comfort Inn Suites and they were wonderful. A couple people booked rooms the day of the wedding and were still given a discounted rate. Do the block before the save the STDs go out so people can plan ahead of time.

cwill6212 · February 2012

I blocked like 15 rooms @ a discounted rate. I probably did this 6 months out---but just so I could mark it off the list and have information ready for invitation inserts and our website. The hotel (I used a Marriott brand) will release the rooms if they haven't been picked up by about 3 weeks out. If enough guests book their rooms here, we'll get the bridal suite free for our wedding night.

ceceibson · February 2012

Block those rooms as soon as possible, says the voice of experience.

We're getting married in a small "resort" town 1 1/2 hours north of Des Moines. We have a cabin up there, it's also my hometown.

Our wedding was set for August 4, 2012. Ceremony and reception venues booked, etc. I sent out Save the Dates back on December 1 [early, I know, but I sent them early since it's effectively a destination wedding for virtually everyone]. In January, my mother called 4 of the hotels in town, only to learn that there were no rooms available on the 4th, due to some classic car show the 2 days prior which draws something like 10,000 people to this town of 6,000!

So, we moved our date to August 18, 2012. But only after I had blocked 80 rooms in 5 different hotels up there. I had to have new STDs printed and the hotel contact info is on them. Our STD {again) cards went out this week.

twotimemob · February 2012

My daughter checked local hotels to set up blocks of rooms - every one of them required them to pay for rooms that did not get booked. Example - reserved 10 rooms, 4 get booked, daughter would be responsible to pay for remaining 6 rooms.

They ended up not reserving any rooms, but sent out a list of local hotels and people found/booked their own.

Starqueg · March 2012

The first hotel we looked at would have allowed us a block of 20 rooms, no deposit, and no financial obligation if rooms aren't book. However, if 80% of the rooms weren't booked, the guests would not get the discounted rate. That was a dealbreaker for me, since I would hate to book a room at one rate, and then find out later that it's about $50 more.

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