Wedding Planning: Reserving Hotel Room Blocks

If you are inviting a lot of out-of-town guests to your wedding, then you are going to have to do a bit of research so that your guests are made comfortable when they arrive.  It is very traditional to reserve hotel room blocks for special occasions.  This comes with several advantages, including a potential cost savings for your guests, guaranteed space for those who need it, and having all of the guests in the same place for after-hour celebrations.

If you are booking a hotel room block, there are a few things that you should consider.  First and foremost, be sure that the hotel is close to the ceremony and reception venue.  People don’t want to be miles away from the action.

If there are rooms at your reception venue, you may want to consider reserving these for your guests, especially if the venue is willing to provide a discounted price.  However, if the rooms at the venue, or the selected hotel are quite pricey, it is a good idea to consider a second hotel option for your guests.  It is not uncommon for brides to reserve blocks in more than one location, providing guests an option.

To get started, narrow the list of potential hotels to two or three, and make the calls.  You will need to provide the date of the event, and the dates that you expect guests to stay at the hotel.  This is a good time to discuss rates and discounts, but also to inquire about special services that would be advantageous for the guests.  For instance, transportation from the airport, or to-and-from the wedding reception would be very handy.

It is a good idea to book a small block of rooms, unless you are very sure of the number of rooms that will be needed.  You can likely add more rooms to your block later, if there is greater-than-expected demand.  This is recommended because hotels will generally have a “shrinkage clause”, which essential means that you could be charged for rooms not booked.  So, if you reserved twenty rooms and only twelve of them are booked for the event, you could be penalized.  The shrinkage clause will generally provide some leeway.  You should aim to have a 20% target for this, meaning that of the twenty rooms, four can go unbooked without penalty.