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Do I really need to reserve room blocks / plan lodging for guests?

MeganapMeganap member
Sixth Anniversary First Comment
in Wedding Etiquette Forum
Hi all,

My wedding date is 11/21/15. We live in Austin, TX, and our venue is in Driftwood, TX, which is a 30 minute drive (24 miles) from Austin.

We are inviting 175 guests. 95 of them would be coming in from out of town (driving in from other Texas cities).

I've been agonizing over what to do with guest accommodations/lodging. This is what I'm working with:

Close to the venue: There are zero hotels. Only bed & breakfasts which are a) very expensive and b) don't have many rooms (at least, not enough for 95 people!).

Equal distance between Austin & the venue: There are a couple hotels, but they're not terribly nice, and are surprisingly expensive for not being close to anything (over $100 per night).

In Austin: Tons of choices, all different price ranges & star ratings.

My options seem to be:

1. Reserve a room block at one of the not-so-nice hotels that are equal distance from Austin to the venue.
Pros: Guest convenience - closer to the venue.
Cons: Staying in the middle of nowhere. Expensive. Not very nice rooms.

2. Reserve a room block at one of the hotels in Austin.
Pros: In town, so guests aren't stuck in the middle of nowhere. They can enjoy the rest of their weekend (outside of the wedding) as they'll be close to attractions, etc. Also, better rooms for reasonable prices.
Cons: Further from the venue... so less convenient in that regard.

To me, #2 makes more sense. We could solve the inconvenience of not being close to the venue by organizing a shuttle service for those who want to use it. 

Here's the problem though...

There are tons of hotels in Austin! From what I've looked at so far, none of them list their room blocking policies on their websites, nor the type of discount your guests would receive (is it 5%? 10%? $20?). This means I have to contact all of them to find out their policies and discounts... which I simply do not have time to do. Also, I've heard that a lot of hotels charge you for rooms that go un-booked, which I completely refuse to agree to. So I'd need a hotel that does not have one of these policies.

My questions:

1. Is it really necessary to reserve rooms for your guests? From my perspective, all of our guests are capable of booking their own hotel rooms. Not only that, but it sounds like a better plan to me anyway - they can a) find what's appropriate for their budget and b) find what fits in with their priorities - i.e. being close to the venue for convenience, or close to the city for more things to do. I think it's kind of absurd that I'm expected to make that decision for them...

2. How on earth do you figure out how many rooms to reserve in your block? Do you reserve on a 1:1 ratio (one room per guest or couple that you're inviting)? If so, what happens when half of them RSVP "no"? 

Also, I'm not even sure that reserving room blocks really saves anyone money. Every wedding I've gone to that had a room block with a "special rate", I've actually been able to find a CHEAPER room at that exact hotel on the wedding weekend by using Hotels.com (or similar sites). 

Basically - room blocks to me just seem like a gigantic headache, and that they don't actually save anyone's time or money. 

Please help! What would you do? Is it totally wrong to not have a room block?
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Re: Do I really need to reserve room blocks / plan lodging for guests?

  • SammiNJonniSammiNJonni member
    Tenth Anniversary 250 Love Its 100 Comments Combo Breaker
    No you do not have to block rooms. 
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  • Maggie0829Maggie0829 member
    Eighth Anniversary 10000 Comments 500 Love Its 25 Answers
    No, you don't have to reserve a room block for your guest.  It is a nice gesture however, especially for people who may not be familiar with the area and may look to your guidance for the best hotel/hotels in the area.

    You certainly don't have to call up every single hotel in the Austin area.  I would suggest calling up 3-5 hotels that you think would be nice and discussing their room block requirements and policies. Not every hotel will charge you for unbooked rooms.  So if you do speak to a hotel that has that policy just politely say "thanks for the information, but no thanks."

    Yes, your guests may be able to find something cheaper elsewhere, but being provided an option or two and seeing the prices of those rooms is very helpful.

    As to how many rooms you should block off, I would suggest one room for every 2 guests, so about 50 rooms.  In fact you could even have two room blocks at two different hotels that vary in price which would give even more options to your guests.

    I think you are making this even more difficult then it needs to be.  It really doesn't take that much to call up a few hotels and set up some room blocks for your guests.  Like I said, it isn't necessary but it is a very nice gesture.

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  • southernbelle0915southernbelle0915 mod
    Moderator 10000 Comments 500 Love Its Fourth Anniversary
    edited March 2015
    You don't have to block rooms, but I would. It's extremely easy to set up and makes things cheaper/easier for guests. I'd just ask about a "courtesy block" so you're not on the hook for any money. It took me about 5 minutes to find a Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn Express in 20 minutes from your venue - in Buda, TX right off I-35. 

    Hampton and Holiday Inns are chains (with very reasonable rates), so they probably have a pretty easy procedure for getting a room block. And it's not in Austin, so you most likely won't have the over-crowding problem that those hotels might have.



    PS - are you having your reception at the Salt Lick? If so, I'm jealous. We went to an RD there a few years ago. The B&G chartered a bus from downtown Austin. It took about 45 minutes. So I'm not sure a hotel in Austin proper is a good way to go.
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  • simcal18simcal18 member
    500 Love Its Third Anniversary 100 Comments First Answer
    edited March 2015
    No, you do not have to block hotel rooms out for guests.  It is most certainly not a requirement.  That having been said :  (1) it saves guests the trouble of figuring out where to get a room, (2) it makes certain planning aspects much easier for you (i.e. welcome bags, shuttles to/from reception, morning after brunch if you're having one, etc. etc.), and (3) it's one of the few things you can do for your wedding that is absolutely FREE (assuming you go with a non-guaranteed room block, which you should.)

    Personally, I think you're way overthinking this.  You don't need to check in with every single hotel in Austin to make sure that you're getting the absolute best rate/best deal.  You don't need to make sure that the number of rooms in your room block matches up perfectly with your number of expected guests.  Where are you staying the night of your wedding?  If it's a hotel, call them and ask them about a room block.  Most hotels will do room blocks of 10-15 guaranteed rooms for free and then will give any additional guests the same rate so long as they have availability.  If you want to book rooms at 2-3 hotels to give guests some options in terms of price point and location while still narrowing down the hotels where you'll need to have shuttle service and/or welcome bag drop off, that's fine too, but you don't have to do that. 

    Again, you don't have to do a room block.  But with this many out-of-town guests coming in and this much time before you're wedding, I'd do it.  It doesn't have to be a big deal and it will make interacting with your guests over the weekend much easier in the long run. 
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  • blabla89blabla89 member
    Ninth Anniversary 2500 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    You don't have to do blocks, but it's a nice thing to do for guest convenience. Especially if there are only a few hotels that are closer to your venue - it would be nice to ensure that your guests could get rooms at those hotels if they want to. You could block one nearby and one in Austin and let your guests choose where they want to stay. If they don't like the places you've blocked, they can always choose to stay elsewhere.

    Many hotels offer courtesy blocks with no penalty for unbooked rooms, so it doesn't hurt you if you block the rooms and they don't all get filled. Be sure to ask about this and read the fine print in the room block agreement to make sure, though.
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  • novella1186novella1186 member
    5000 Comments 500 Love Its Second Anniversary First Answer
    Agree with PP that room blocks are a nice gesture for your guests. 

    Pick just a few to call. Go online and look at their regular room rates. If the normal rate is $500 per night and this is way out of your guests' budget, then don't bother. Even with the special block discount it won't be significantly less than that. So base your choices on hotels that are in the right location, seem to have nice accommodations, and are within a good price range. 

    Call and ask what the procedure is for a block. You can also ask to see a sample contract for room blocks. I checked with 5 hotels for blocks for my wedding. Only 1 of the 5 have a stipulation in the contract that I would be required to pay for any un-booked rooms, so obviously I did not sign the contract and did not use that hotel. None of the others have that. 

    You can also start with the minimum amount of rooms you need, and have that number increase as people book/if the block fills up. One of our hotels where we did a block (we did 2 blocks at 2 different hotels because nearly all our guests are from out of town and we wanted people to have a bit of a choice) preferred us to start with 10 rooms, and as soon as that amount started to book up, they automatically add 10 more to the block. 

    You may also want to put something on your wedding website about the different options for people who are not familiar with the area at all. I'm not from Texas, so I'd be interested to know that there's some B&Bs very close to the venue, and the hotels that are somewhat close have nothing around them, and then of course Austen has tons of hotels. It's a good range of options to be aware of. 
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  • MeganapMeganap member
    Sixth Anniversary First Comment
    Thanks everyone for these replies - they're really helpful. I like the idea of reserving blocks at a couple different hotels in different areas/at different price points to give guests some options.

    And you all may very well be right that I'm overthinking this! I'm both planning and paying for this entire thing myself (with no assistance..) so to say I'm overwhelmed is an understatement. Plus I work full time and am a part time student... I have next to no free time so I'm at the point where if anything seems even remotely complicated, I'm ready to throw it out entirely. 

    Thanks for talking me down off the edge - I'll try to break this into manageable chunks and just call a handful of places to start.
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  • novella1186novella1186 member
    5000 Comments 500 Love Its Second Anniversary First Answer
    edited March 2015
    Meganap said:

    Thanks everyone for these replies - they're really helpful. I like the idea of reserving blocks at a couple different hotels in different areas/at different price points to give guests some options.


    And you all may very well be right that I'm overthinking this! I'm both planning and paying for this entire thing myself (with no assistance..) so to say I'm overwhelmed is an understatement. Plus I work full time and am a part time student... I have next to no free time so I'm at the point where if anything seems even remotely complicated, I'm ready to throw it out entirely. 

    Thanks for talking me down off the edge - I'll try to break this into manageable chunks and just call a handful of places to start.
    Is your FI helping you plan at all? He should be, since this is his wedding too. Give him the task of calling hotels, and give yourself a break. You shouldn't have to take on 100% of the tasks by yourself, especially with how busy you are. 

    When I started planning my wedding, I was in grad school and also working full time, and I don't have a wedding planner. So I definitely understand the business and stress. But when I was too busy to deal with something, FI handled it. He helped take a lot of the pressure off me by choosing details, contacting vendors, doing some research, etc. If he hadn't helped, I would have been screwed. Not to mention mad. 
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  • marie2785marie2785 member
    100 Love Its 100 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper
    It took me 5 minutes to set up a courtesy room block. Called the hotel, gave them my info, they sent me a contract, I signed. It was EASY. And it helps for guests who don't know the area. No one HAS to stay in the room block--they can go stay in Austin. But for those who want to, it saves them alot of time exploring hotel options. 
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  • teddygirl9teddygirl9 member
    Knottie Warrior 500 Love Its 500 Comments Name Dropper
    I used to work for a hotel, and you are stressing yourself out for nothing! The hotel WANTS your business, they will make it as easy as possible. Just pick a few hotels and call, to feel it out. If its too expensive or they will charge you, you dont go with them.
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  • MeganapMeganap member
    Sixth Anniversary First Comment
    novella1186 said:

    Meganap said:

    Thanks everyone for these replies - they're really helpful. I like the idea of reserving blocks at a couple different hotels in different areas/at different price points to give guests some options.


    And you all may very well be right that I'm overthinking this! I'm both planning and paying for this entire thing myself (with no assistance..) so to say I'm overwhelmed is an understatement. Plus I work full time and am a part time student... I have next to no free time so I'm at the point where if anything seems even remotely complicated, I'm ready to throw it out entirely. 

    Thanks for talking me down off the edge - I'll try to break this into manageable chunks and just call a handful of places to start.
    Is your FI helping you plan at all? He should be, since this is his wedding too. Give him the task of calling hotels, and give yourself a break. You shouldn't have to take on 100% of the tasks by yourself, especially with how busy you are. 

    When I started planning my wedding, I was in grad school and also working full time, and I don't have a wedding planner. So I definitely understand the business and stress. But when I was too busy to deal with something, FI handled it. He helped take a lot of the pressure off me by choosing details, contacting vendors, doing some research, etc. If he hadn't helped, I would have been screwed. Not to mention mad. 
    He is not helping plan. He's more of a sounding board... he's happy to give opinions and help me talk things out, but is not good for any active planning. When I spoke to him about this particular topic, his opinion was to just skip it - no room blocks, no guest accommodations. To him, the path with the lowest amount of effort & stress is always the right one.

    Also, to southernbelle0915 - No, we aren't using the Salt Lick. Our venue is just down the road from there, though.
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  • redwoodoriginalredwoodoriginal member
    Eighth Anniversary 500 Love Its 100 Comments Name Dropper
    edited March 2015
    Meganap said:

    Meganap said:

    Thanks everyone for these replies - they're really helpful. I like the idea of reserving blocks at a couple different hotels in different areas/at different price points to give guests some options.


    And you all may very well be right that I'm overthinking this! I'm both planning and paying for this entire thing myself (with no assistance..) so to say I'm overwhelmed is an understatement. Plus I work full time and am a part time student... I have next to no free time so I'm at the point where if anything seems even remotely complicated, I'm ready to throw it out entirely. 

    Thanks for talking me down off the edge - I'll try to break this into manageable chunks and just call a handful of places to start.
    Is your FI helping you plan at all? He should be, since this is his wedding too. Give him the task of calling hotels, and give yourself a break. You shouldn't have to take on 100% of the tasks by yourself, especially with how busy you are. 

    When I started planning my wedding, I was in grad school and also working full time, and I don't have a wedding planner. So I definitely understand the business and stress. But when I was too busy to deal with something, FI handled it. He helped take a lot of the pressure off me by choosing details, contacting vendors, doing some research, etc. If he hadn't helped, I would have been screwed. Not to mention mad. 


    He is not helping plan. He's more of a sounding board... he's happy to give opinions and help me talk things out, but is not good for any active planning.     When I spoke to him about this particular topic, his opinion was to just skip it - no room blocks, no guest accommodations. To him, the path with the lowest amount of effort & stress is always the right one.

    Also, to southernbelle0915 - No, we aren't using the Salt Lick. Our venue is just down the road from there, though.
    -------------WTF BOXES------------------


    Uhhhh.... then tell him to start? A wedding involves the two of you.... When I got stressed about wedding planning my FI was like, ok, how can I help ((most of the time, sometimes he was as helpful as a lump of coal, but I digress)... just tell him, I need you to do this for me. It shouldn't fall only on you to do everything. I wasn't even the active planner for any trips or vacations in our relationship, but suddenly the wedding fell to me and you bet your ass I was like uhhh NOPE.
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  • indianaalumindianaalum member
    500 Love Its 500 Comments First Anniversary Name Dropper
    I would also ask the venue who they recommend. Oftentimes, they have connections with hotels that will offer "shuttles" . That's probably a faster way to find a hotel too
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  • kiwikiss56kiwikiss56 member
    Knottie Warrior 100 Comments 25 Love Its Name Dropper
    A lot of chain hotels have free shuttle services (although not sure about that distance).  If you are calling hotels in Austin, I would definitely ask.
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  • novella1186novella1186 member
    5000 Comments 500 Love Its Second Anniversary First Answer
    Meganap said:

    novella1186 said:

    Meganap said:

    Thanks everyone for these replies - they're really helpful. I like the idea of reserving blocks at a couple different hotels in different areas/at different price points to give guests some options.


    And you all may very well be right that I'm overthinking this! I'm both planning and paying for this entire thing myself (with no assistance..) so to say I'm overwhelmed is an understatement. Plus I work full time and am a part time student... I have next to no free time so I'm at the point where if anything seems even remotely complicated, I'm ready to throw it out entirely. 

    Thanks for talking me down off the edge - I'll try to break this into manageable chunks and just call a handful of places to start.
    Is your FI helping you plan at all? He should be, since this is his wedding too. Give him the task of calling hotels, and give yourself a break. You shouldn't have to take on 100% of the tasks by yourself, especially with how busy you are. 

    When I started planning my wedding, I was in grad school and also working full time, and I don't have a wedding planner. So I definitely understand the business and stress. But when I was too busy to deal with something, FI handled it. He helped take a lot of the pressure off me by choosing details, contacting vendors, doing some research, etc. If he hadn't helped, I would have been screwed. Not to mention mad. 
    He is not helping plan. He's more of a sounding board... he's happy to give opinions and help me talk things out, but is not good for any active planning. When I spoke to him about this particular topic, his opinion was to just skip it - no room blocks, no guest accommodations. To him, the path with the lowest amount of effort & stress is always the right one.

    Also, to southernbelle0915 - No, we aren't using the Salt Lick. Our venue is just down the road from there, though.
    He needs to get his ass in gear and start helping you. Like yesterday. I'm sure he has the ability to make a few phone calls and google stuff. 

    If he doesn't think the hotel blocks are necessary then all you have to do is say, "I've decided that we're doing hotel blocks. I need you to call x, y, and z hotels for me and see what their policies are on blocks." 

    Seriously. This is not your wedding (as in just you, alone); it's a wedding for BOTH of you. He has a responsibility and obligation to plan just as much as you do. 
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  • blabla89blabla89 member
    Ninth Anniversary 2500 Comments 500 Love Its Name Dropper
    novella1186 said:

    Meganap said:

    novella1186 said:

    Meganap said:

    Thanks everyone for these replies - they're really helpful. I like the idea of reserving blocks at a couple different hotels in different areas/at different price points to give guests some options.


    And you all may very well be right that I'm overthinking this! I'm both planning and paying for this entire thing myself (with no assistance..) so to say I'm overwhelmed is an understatement. Plus I work full time and am a part time student... I have next to no free time so I'm at the point where if anything seems even remotely complicated, I'm ready to throw it out entirely. 

    Thanks for talking me down off the edge - I'll try to break this into manageable chunks and just call a handful of places to start.
    Is your FI helping you plan at all? He should be, since this is his wedding too. Give him the task of calling hotels, and give yourself a break. You shouldn't have to take on 100% of the tasks by yourself, especially with how busy you are. 

    When I started planning my wedding, I was in grad school and also working full time, and I don't have a wedding planner. So I definitely understand the business and stress. But when I was too busy to deal with something, FI handled it. He helped take a lot of the pressure off me by choosing details, contacting vendors, doing some research, etc. If he hadn't helped, I would have been screwed. Not to mention mad. 
    He is not helping plan. He's more of a sounding board... he's happy to give opinions and help me talk things out, but is not good for any active planning. When I spoke to him about this particular topic, his opinion was to just skip it - no room blocks, no guest accommodations. To him, the path with the lowest amount of effort & stress is always the right one.

    Also, to southernbelle0915 - No, we aren't using the Salt Lick. Our venue is just down the road from there, though.
    He needs to get his ass in gear and start helping you. Like yesterday. I'm sure he has the ability to make a few phone calls and google stuff. 

    If he doesn't think the hotel blocks are necessary then all you have to do is say, "I've decided that we're doing hotel blocks. I need you to call x, y, and z hotels for me and see what their policies are on blocks." 

    Seriously. This is not your wedding (as in just you, alone); it's a wedding for BOTH of you. He has a responsibility and obligation to plan just as much as you do. 
    I actually did this with FI for our hotel blocks. It was a big help to have someone else deal with that.

    Your FI needs to understand that if y'all are inviting guests, and especially if they are traveling, then you need to be focused on what is the lowest amount of effort and stress for THEM.
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