HOW TO BOOK A HOTEL FOR YOUR GUESTS

HOTEL BLOCKING

So, you have found your dream wedding venue and it can’t be any more perfect! The next step in the wedding planning journey is to make sure that all your guests have a place to stay at least the night of your event, or even a few days surrounding the event. 

Whether your guests are flying across the world or driving from an hour away to come celebrate your special day, you want to make sure everyone is taken care of with comfortable accommodations. 

THE SEARCH

Here are some things to consider as you search for the right hotels for your guests!

LOCATION

You want to begin by searching for hotels that are close to your wedding venue. It is always a great idea to find a hotel close to your wedding venue so traveling to and from your event is as easy as possible for your guests. 

Another factor to consider is where your guests are coming from. If your event has multiple locations or spans across multiple days, it may be smart to consider all the locations guests will have to travel to and find a hotel somewhere in the middle of these locations that is convenient for all parts of the event. 

You may also want to consider where else your guests might be traveling to after your event. If you are having a destination wedding and know that a number of your guests are going to be traveling to another nearby city after your event for their own vacation, perhaps add some hotel options that are closer to that area as well. 

PRICE POINT

When looking at hotel options, the right price point for your guests is always something to consider. As many of your guests may use your wedding as a mini vacation, you want them to stay somewhere nice, but should still be conscious of how much you think your guests would be comfortable spending. Keep in mind, traveling to your wedding may be a large expense in itself, but people may want to treat themselves to something fancy. You know your guests best! 

AMENITIES

Is your wedding in a sunny location and you want all hotels to have an outdoor pool? Is your event in a tiny historical town and you want your guests to experience a true bed & breakfast? Think of why you chose this area to get married in and what kind of experience you want your guests to have! 

THE DETAILS

Once you have narrowed it down to a number of hotels that you think would all be great options for your guests, it is time to start discussing the room blocks with the hotels. There are 2 types of blocks that hotels will offer. 

COURTESY BLOCK

Some hotels will offer a courtesy block, where they will hold a small quantity of rooms (usually up to 10 rooms, sometimes up to 30 rooms) at a discounted rate for your guests. A credit card, deposit, or contract are usually not required. 

GROUP HOTEL BLOCK

Some hotels have an official group hotel block which usually requires a contract signed by both you and the hotel, agreeing to their terms, rates, dates, etc. It often requires a credit card to be held on file and may sometimes include a deposit. Some hotels may offer a courtesy room block up to 10 rooms but for larger parties, they will require a contract. 

THE FINE PRINT

Make sure to read your contract or agreements carefully! Here are a few things to lookout for or inquire about when gathering information from hotels. 

ATTRITION POLICY

Many hotels that require a contract will include an attrition policy as part of the group block contract. The attrition rate is the required amount of rooms in the group block that must be paid for, whether they are reserved by guests or not. The best way to illustrate this is through an example. If you are creating a room block of 10 rooms and they have an 80% attrition rate, this means that 8 of the 10 rooms must be paid for. If only 6 of the rooms are booked by guests, you will be responsible to pay for the additional 2 rooms to satisfy the 80% attrition policy. If you are unsure whether your guests will fill the room block, then it is best to stay away from those hotels with attrition policies.

CUT-OFF DATE

Whether you have a group block contract or a courtesy block, the hotel will have a cut-off date. This means they will hold your rooms and your guests can reserve rooms under the discounted room block rate up until this cut-off date. Often this occurs 30 days prior to the start of your reservation. At this point, any rooms in your room block that have not been filled are then released from the block and available for sale to the general public. 

LET’S GO

There are a number of factors to think about when searching for hotels to block for your guests -  location, cost, & amenities, but at the end of the day, you know your guests best and what kind of experience you want them to have while they celebrate with you! Once you have found the perfect hotels, negotiate and learn more about the hotel policies for room blocks, and make sure they align with what you think your guests will fulfill. Now let’s get those room blocks and continue with the wedding journey!