Reserving Blocks of Rooms for a Wedding -- Not at Diz, unfortunately...

[Ranger111]

Anyone have any tips about reserving blocks of rooms for out-of-town guests at hotels?

Somehow, myself, father of the bride, got "given" this task "because I am good at buying cars."

What?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!!!
dave

 

[kymom99]

I would contact the hotels directly and ask what they can do for you. I have not reserved hotels but have organized rooms at a state park for a reunion. They gave us a code for a discount and reserved cottages and lodge rooms for people to call and book.

 

[Alesia]

You need to just call the hotels and see what they can do for you.

 

[ajwolfe]

I've only had to do this once. Called around to different hotels to see who would offer the best rate and then the hotel we decided to go with provided me with a link for folks to book thru and a code to ensure they all got the correct rate. I was assigned a concierge to work and make sure everyone was booked by a certain date, etc.

Good luck!

 

[kymom99]

I will add that you should check online to see what the best rate is that you can get on your own. That way you can see if they are giving you at least a comparable rate for your group.

 

[yoopermom]

If there is a hotel attached to the reception venue (or at least very close) I would give it priority, with today's emphasis on no drinking and driving. I know that we stay longer/enjoy the reception more if we don't have to drive at the end of it.

If it is in an expensive area, consider two hotels at different price points. I appreciate a lower cost option so I can give the bride and groom a better gift .

Terri

 

[nordkin]

Be careful booking a block of rooms at a discounted rate. Depending on the contract, you may have to pay for the rooms even if they do not get used. We found we could just reserve the rooms we needed and could cancel with no penalty up to 4pm the day of the wedding with no financial obligation. We did this through Hilton and Marriott with no issues and the piece of mind of knowing we weren’t on the hook financially. We also rented a small bus to provide transportation to and from the wedding venue from the limo company for a very reasonable price. This took away the drinking and driving issue.

 

[manning]

Anyone have any tips about reserving blocks of rooms for out-of-town guests at hotels?

Somehow, myself, father of the bride, got "given" this task "because I am good at buying cars."

What?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!!!
dave

Oh the groom is marrying a car.

 

[Judique]

Anyone have any tips about reserving blocks of rooms for out-of-town guests at hotels?

Somehow, myself, father of the bride, got "given" this task "because I am good at buying cars."

What?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!!!
dave

I guess they could have asked you to set up any number of things!

Anyway, I have used those blocked rooms on a number of occasions. Sometimes at a great price such as when we stayed at a Hilton property - that was seriously the best rate of any hotel in or near the area. And sometimes I've beat the rate with a AAA card.

First consider the venue for the wedding. If it is in or attached to a hotel, that would be the first choice.

Proximity and price point are both important, especially if folks are flying in. Since we are a spread out family this info has always been part of wedding planning for us. It's usually posted on the wedding website or before websites, there was often a sheet included in the invitations.

Once the invites go out, the blocked rooms are usually available to be booked for a certain period of time, so if people are attending they can get the rate. They don't stay available forever, (unless you are footing the bill for these open rooms, which is highly unlikely for most wedding guests.)

The suite type rooms are popular such as Homewood Suites from Hilton (or others), as families are often traveling for these events. Usually 2-3 choices blocked are sufficient, depending on the size of the wedding and how many guests may be traveling in. You may need more rooms blocked for a 500 guest wedding than a 50-100 guest wedding. Do be mindful of price points as well - not everyone wants a $50 room or a $300 room.