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Holiday weekend hotel block question

therealdiehltherealdiehl member
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in Wedding Etiquette Forum
My fiance and I were not intending to get married on Labor Day weekend but the venue we wanted was booked up to that point and the more we thought about it the more we liked the idea. So we are getting married on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend 2016. It's going to be in a vacation town (Lake Geneva, WI) which is about 45 minutes away from where we and most of our family/friends live. Lake Geneva is very busy during the summer season so I am going to block rooms at hotels early....the problem is that since it's a holiday weekend in the summer most hotels in the area require a 2 night minimum stay and we aren't sure which nights to book. Any suggestions on whether to book Friday/Saturday nights or Saturday/Sunday nights? Or do some of both...maybe some for all three nights? Help!
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Re: Holiday weekend hotel block question

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    lovegood90lovegood90 member
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    If your family/friends only live 45 mins away I would not necessarily expect that they would plan on staying in a hotel, let alone for 2 nights. Have you asked your VIPS what they would be planning to do?

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    photokittyphotokitty mod
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    I would ask if the block could allow them to choose which 2 consecutive nights. I would definitely not sign anything that guarantees a minimum number of room or anything hat holds you financially responsible. I would not be willing to pay for 2 nights, probably at an inflated holiday weekend price if I lived 45 mins away. I would come, stay sober, leave early and drive home.

    therealdiehl91@hotmail.com said:
    My fiance and I were not intending to get married on Labor Day weekend but the venue we wanted was booked up to that point and the more we thought about it the more we liked the idea. So we are getting married on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend 2016. It's going to be in a vacation town (Lake Geneva, WI) which is about 45 minutes away from where we and most of our family/friends live. Lake Geneva is very busy during the summer season so I am going to block rooms at hotels early....the problem is that since it's a holiday weekend in the summer most hotels in the area require a 2 night minimum stay and we aren't sure which nights to book. Any suggestions on whether to book Friday/Saturday nights or Saturday/Sunday nights? Or do some of both...maybe some for all three nights? Help!

    :kiss: ~xoxo~ :kiss:

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    ShesSoColdShesSoCold mod
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    You should really change your user name.
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    PrettyGirlLostPrettyGirlLost member
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    photokitty said:
    I would ask if the block could allow them to choose which 2 consecutive nights. I would definitely not sign anything that guarantees a minimum number of room or anything hat holds you financially responsible. I would not be willing to pay for 2 nights, probably at an inflated holiday weekend price if I lived 45 mins away. I would come, stay sober, leave early and drive home.


    This!

    Also, be prepared for a lot of declines because your friends and family may have standing vacation plans for that weekend.

    "Love is the one thing we're capable of perceiving that transcends time and space."


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    flutteringinflflutteringinfl member
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    The hotels we have room blocks at are allowing our guests to book at the reduced rate several days before and after the wedding. So some people are only coming in for one or two nights, others are making a vacation out of it. If the hotel you're talking to is making you choose, I'd see what other hotels have to say, because chances are there's some with more flexibility. We had to ask around and talked to some places we definitely didn't want to do business with. One hotel said there would be no discount for people booking for our block, and we had to put down a deposit of 25% for all the rooms we wanted, and that deposit would only be refunded if all the rooms were booked. Needless to say we found other hotels that offered a discount to room block guests and did not ask us to pay anything.
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    kmmssgkmmssg mod
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    Most vacation towns are crawling with visitors who are enjoying Summer's last hurrah.  Are you really sure you want to choose that week?  Hotels are going to be more expensive and book up like crazy.  Are you sure you want that date?
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    lyndausvilyndausvi mod
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     We got married the weekend after labor day in a resort beach town.  Some of the places required 2 night, while one requested 3 nights.    The guests could pick which days they wanted.

    Our wedding was OOT for everyone (although some were within 1.5 hours from the venue).  About 50 of them choose Thursday check out Sunday. We did have a golf outing on Friday and a dinner Thursday night for those who came in early for the golfing. 

     The rest choose Friday-Saturday.  No one choose Saturday-Sunday.  

    We were not charge for the block.   All un-reserved rooms were released about 3 weeks before the wedding.






    What differentiates an average host and a great host is anticipating unexpressed needs and wants of their guests.  Just because the want/need is not expressed, doesn't mean it wouldn't be appreciated. 
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    erinlin25erinlin25 member
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    If people choose to stay I would think they would book Saturday and Sunday-- BUT given its 45 minutes away unless people plan on making a long weekend out of it I suspect not a lot of people will stay if its a 2 day minimum. 

    As long as you are not responsible for a minimum I would ask if they can have the option to book Fri, Sat or Sun.  If the wedding is on Sunday though majority would come in Saturday and then check out Monday (but I bet most guests will come in Sunday, stay sober or have a DD to go home and not stay over at all).  If they book Fri and Saturday only they would have to check out Sunday and would probably be before the wedding starts so I don't see the point of that.  But some guests may make a whole weekend out of it and stay Fri, Sat and Sun night checking out Monday.
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    SP29SP29 member
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    One of the hotels we got a block at required a 2 night stay for the "deal". Guests were allowed to choose which two days (Fri/Sat vs. Sat/Sun). There was a different price for each (still at a reduced rate, but Fri/Sat was more expensive), but both options were available.

    As long as you aren't required to put down a deposit, I would block some rooms and ask for the option of choosing which 2 nights. If no one books, the rooms get released- no worries. 
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    JoanE2012JoanE2012 member
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    If I lived 45 minutes away, I probably wouldn't stay one night, let alone 2.  If most of your friends and family are 45 minutes away, it's something to consider.  No matter what you do, make sure you are not financially responsible for any unbooked rooms.
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    Knottie91800232Knottie91800232 member
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    What if you looked for a hotel in the direction of where your fam and friends are mostly from, that is far out enough from LG to avoid the holiday madness and do a shuttle to the venue? I've been to weddings where the shuttle had to go 20-25 min. Not ideal, but as a guest I'd rather do that than book 2 nights.
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    MandyMostMandyMost member
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    I really can't imagine staying 2 nights for someone's wedding 45 minutes from my home, unless it was maybe the parents. My wedding was about an hour from where my mom lives, and she stayed Friday night after the rehearsal dinner, and then Saturday night after the wedding. We started the wedding stuff at around 9am on Saturday (getting ready) and had a brunch at 10am on Sunday, and she really wanted to be a part of both. However, she was really debating just going home on Friday night and coming back Saturday morning. And this was the mother of the bride! My brother (who also walked me down the aisle) didn't stay at the hotel at all; he drove the hour back and forth on Friday night/Saturday morning/Saturday night. 

    The groom's parents live about 1.5 hours away, and don't drive at night, so they stayed both nights. About half our guests lived around 45 minutes away, more or less, and none of them stayed at all except for our parents. 


    If I was invited to a wedding Saturday of labor day weekend that was 45 minutes away, I'm almost positive I would drive home that night so I could still have Sunday and Monday to myself. Not enough time to go out of town, but still enough for a day trip or some relaxing time at home. 
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    therealdiehltherealdiehl member
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    Thanks everyone! After doing a little digging, we found a hotel within walking distance of the reception venue which doesn't assess a 2 night minimum stay....The prices are still a little more expensive with it being Labor Day weekend so in addition to blocking rooms there (with no financial obligations if the rooms don't book) we are going to block rooms at a hotel about 15 minutes away which is cheaper and also doesn't require the 2 night stay. We'll offer a shuttle for those who decide to stay at the farther hotel.

    As far as it being on Labor Day weekend...we have talked with most of our close friends and family about it and every one so far has been overwhelmingly for it so I don't think it will be too much of an issue. And if we do get some declines because of that, we're not going to hold it against them.
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