Hotel Blocks
Manchester Hotel - Lexington, KY
Waldorf Astoria - Las Vegas, NV
Hotel blocks - accommodations are an important part of planning any wedding or event, especially if you have guests traveling from out of town. While it isn’t your responsibility to ensure every guest has a place to stay - it’s common courtesy (and assumed) that you as the host will at least provide recommendations for those who aren’t familiar with your wedding location. Providing recommendations goes a long way to create a good guest experience, and can significantly help your guests make a good choice when choosing where to stay.
There are so many things to consider when choosing a property to recommend - and we always suggest setting up a block of rooms to make it even easier (and less expensive) for your friends and family. But, what do you need to know when booking a block? Are you on the hook for the room fees? How do guests book the rooms? Is this going to be another “task” on your never ending to-do list?
We are breaking down all of the room block details you need to know!
How many room blocks do I need?
We suggest 1-3, depending on the number of guests you are expecting to travel in from out of town. This also varies if the town you are in has a large network of STR (Short-term-rentals) or if it’s exclusively hotels. If you have a big VRBO network (or something similar) you may err on the lower side of hotel blocks.
What hotels are best to set up a block?
This will vary from town to town, and also depends on the types of blocks offered. If you will have more than one block, we suggest pulling blocks with different points programs. Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, and IHG are the top points programs which allows guests to either earn, or redeem points.
The exception to this would be if there’s a fun property or property unique to your town - even if it’s an independent property (no points) you should totally add this to your list!
How far in advance do we need to set up the blocks?
Most properties will not let you book a block more than 12 months (And one day) in advance of your event date. After that, we suggest booking sooner rather than later. There’s no harm in setting it up as soon as you can. At a minimum, we suggest having the block set up before you launch your wedding website (And send your save-the-dates) so that it’s ready to go as soon as guests get the invite.
What is the difference between a “courtesy” block, and a “guaranteed” block?
A courtesy block is a block the hotel holds as a courtesy. This means you aren’t on the hook for any un-booked rooms, guests will pay for their own room fee (plus tax and fees), and any rooms not booked from the block will be released in advance of the event (normally 30~ days out).
A guaranteed block means you are guaranteeing a certain number of rooms. The hotel will hold a set of rooms (let’s say 20, for this example) and you are on the hook for a certain number based on their attrition rate. What is attrition? This is the “slippage” rate meaning that you must cover up to that amount. So in our 20-room example, if you had an 80% attrition rate (this is common), you’d be on the hook to cover up to 80%, or 16 rooms. So, if your guests book 15 rooms of 20, you’d have to pay for the cost of one room. These rooms also get released in advance of the event if not booked, but typically closer to event date (normally 2~ weeks).
If your hotels require a guaranteed block, we suggest limiting the number of blocks you offer guests (doing one large block instead of 2-3 options).
How do guests book their rooms?
With any room block, most hotels will provide a booking link where guests can conveniently log on to select their bed type and pay to secure their room. Some smaller hotels or non-chain properties might not have this option, but in that case they will provide a phone number and a booking code to use.
Most hotels require a credit card to hold the room, but don’t charge the room until you check in or check out, depending on the hotel. In rare occasion, and for smaller (locally-owned) properties, they require payment in advance.
Do I have to pay for the rooms myself? Or does the guest pay?
The guests will pay for their own room fees, tax, incidentals, and any other applicable fees. So long as it’s not a rooming list, you do not have to pay for the rooms or provide any information.
The exception is a guaranteed block that doesn’t meet the attrition rate.
What location (address) is best for the hotel block?
If booking more than one block, we suggest picking an option that is closer to the venue, and a second that is closer to a walkable area (downtown, a popular shopping/food destination, etc.). If you have a third block, this could be picked based on proximity to the airport or highway.
Blocks further from a popular destination (like a shopping center or downtown) are likely to be less expensive, giving your guests another option. If you have two blocks (or more) we suggest ensuring that at least one block is lower priced so that guests can choose what is best for them AND create the experience they want.
How many rooms should I start with in my block?
You will likely book your block for multiple days. If your wedding is on a Saturday, you’ll start your block on a Friday (Check in) and end on a Sunday (check out). The block will allow guests to book based on their schedule - but you’ll pull rooms based on the assumption they are coming for the weekend.
The number of rooms you need depends on the number of guests you anticipate will travel in, the availability of other options (VRBO, for example) and the number of blocks you are booking. This also might depend on if it’s a busy weekend in your town, and other factors.
Some hotels have requirements on the minimum or maximum they allow for blocks - and this varies property-to-property, and varies depending on a courtesy versus a guaranteed block. If it’s not a busy weekend in your town, we suggest starting with a smaller block (10-20 rooms per night) and adding rooms as your block gets filled (if you still need them). This, of course, changes based on the rules of your hotel, their availability, and how far you are from the block.
21c Museum Hotel - Cincinnati, OH
Grand Bohemian - Asheville, NC