Demystifying the Hotel Room Block: Do You Need One? — The Double Knot | Certified Planners | Weddings and Events

Ryan & Gina Photography; Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles Pasadena/Old Town

Congrats on your wedding planning adventure! Your family is scheduled to come from all over the world to celebrate with you and that is truly the most magical part of your day! Every person you love (and who loves you) is surrounding you for SIX hours… your work friends, your family, his family, your high school and college friends, etc. You get it! It will feel like a dream but if you only see them for six hours, it will feel like a quick dream and be over in a flash! Want to know a great way to spend a little more time with them? Encourage your out-of-town guests to book in the same hotel and get them a discount! They will be able to spend time together at the hotel before and after and it will make transportation plans easy. How? Read on for tips and tricks on getting a room block with your nearby hotel.

What to Prepare in Advance of your Room Block

It will be a good idea to have a list of families you are inviting that will be coming from out of town and what types of rooms you think they will need. These are the families that might be interested in booking a hotel room in the area. Most hotels require at least 10 rooms minimum but remember if you are asking for 2 nights (the night prior and the night of), you will only need 5 rooms for two nights to hit the minimum. Also, you can choose how many of each type of room you will need (i.e. 5 double queen, 5 king, 1 suite, etc). If your guests have families with kids, you will need more double queen rooms because they have two beds. If you have a lot of couples coming, you will need more kings with only one bed. Don’t forget to grab a suite for you to get ready in! If you book two nights for yourself in the same room, you can get up early to do hair and makeup in that room and not worry about check out times or cleanup since you will be coming back that night to the same room!

How to Get Your Room Block

Somewhere 6-12 months before your wedding day, call up your nearby hotel and ask for the person in charge of group rates. Ask them to put together an agreement for a discounted room rate for the number of rooms (and types) you are expecting to get booked. They will lock in a great rate for your family and friends and send over a contract to sign. Once you sign the agreement, they will send over a link for your guests to use to book their rooms. Or, your guests can call in and mention the room block to get added in manually.

What to Watch Out for When Booking

There are some risks to look out for when you are signing your room block agreements! Some hotels require a certain number of rooms to be booked by a certain date or you will be financially responsible for them. This is called an attrition rate. For example, if you block 10 rooms, and only 5 get booked, but your attrition rate is 80%, then you will be charged for the three rooms that didn’t get booked. They are expecting 80% of the revenue that you promised them no matter what. However, SOME hotels do not require an attrition rate and will allow unbooked rooms to be released back into inventory 30 days prior to your dates at NO COST to you! It is VERY important that you read every part of your contract before you sign. If your guests decide not to come, or they book a hotel elsewhere, you do not want to be responsible for thousands of dollars in hotel attrition fees.

Other Tips & Tricks to Hotel Room Blocks

If you have a lot of guests at one hotel, you can make the weekend events easy for them to attend by setting up shuttle transportation! Then, they can be picked up and transported to your venue and back! Or, if your guests are tech savvy and not willing to wait for group transportation, you can pay for your guest’s transportation via Uber or Lyft with their pre-planned event coupons. Go to the event portion of their website and plan in advance the amount you are willing to pay for, how many coupons you want, and where/when they are allowed to use them and then pass the codes out to your guests! If they use them, great! If not, you will not be charged.

In Conclusion…

Weddings are all about having fun and celebrating with your guests! If you never see them, then what is the point? Imagine you are spending the effort to attend a wedding in another state. Wouldn’t you more likely attend if you knew there would be other guests in the same hotel to hang out with at the bar or to split transportation with or to help you get a discount? I know I would! Just keep in mind the rules, do a little follow-up with the out-of-town guests so they are aware of the room blocks, and then all you have to do is enjoy! Happy planning!