We're wedding planners that get asked tons of questions about how to block rooms at hotels for your out of town guests.  Since we get asked these questions often enough, we thought it best to put down the most frequently asked questions here so it would help everyone.  In scouring the web for the best answers, we came across many that had two good answers.  In those cases, you will notice that we have listed multiple answers. 

If you are looking for a rooms for your wedding, fill out the hotel search form below and get some great rates at area hotels. 

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Q - I heard that when you block some rooms with a hotel you can receive a discounted rate. So far, with the few hotels that have responded, this has not been the case. What's the story?

A - It really depends on the hotel. Some hotels  will charge regular rates, but give the bride and groom a free suite. Some hotels offer a percentage off when a certain number of rooms are reserved whereas some just allow you to reserve in advance and don't offer any discount at all. Do your homework and choose the hotel that offers the best deal overall. Your guests will certainly appreciate the fact that you made it easier for them to make travel plans.

A- This is not always the case, especially in smaller hotels. The more full the hotel gets, the more they can charge for a bedroom, because they have met their minimum revenue for the day. If you book only Saturday night, the hotel must charge you more for the bedrooms because they will likely lose out on the business from the Friday or Sunday night that they will lose...it's called displacement. You should get a better deal generally if you book a number of rooms for more than 1 night, and you can guarantee the number of rooms to the hotel. For example, pre-payment of 15 rooms will be cheaper than asking the hotel to allocate 15 rooms which guests may or may not book. I hope this helps.

A- I work for a hotel and a lot of times the group rates can depend on what's going on not only in the area but also at the hotel. Each hotel can only take so many groups because those rooms are held and taken out of the public inventory. So each hotel would have to leave something available for regular travelers. Also before you start calling hotels for group rates, find out what they are already selling at online then you will know if they are giving you any kind of deal. Good Luck!

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Q- How Do I Block Hotel Rooms For A Wedding?

A- Blocking hotel rooms is very important if you are planning a wedding that a lot of people are traveling to. This is something that can be done in advance to give your guests plenty of time to plan for the occasion. Most hotels are very flexible when it comes to blocking a set of rooms.

1. Decide how many people are going to be traveling to your wedding. You will want to have a rough idea of how many people are going to be needing a hotel room before you make any blocks on rooms.
2. Check on rates. If you are going to need more than 20 rooms blocked, check to see if any local hotels will give you a discount because there will be a lot of people staying with them. Call around to other hotels before you book to see if there will be any extra fees. You can also compare rates that they quote over the phone to ones you may have found online.
3. Call the hotel to block the rooms. They will need just a few pieces of information, such as how many rooms, smoking preference, and the wedding. This way when one of the guests calls, they will have the information needed. You will be able to also ask about the amenities they have to offer.
4. Block multiple rooms at multiple hotels for a large number. For more than 30 hotel rooms, it is recommended that you block at multiple hotels for the total number of rooms needed because this gives your guests the option of choosing their own hotel.
5. Inform your guests of the room blocks. You will want to let them know this information so that they can tell the hotel when they make their reservation

A- We picked a hotel. They've reserved a set number of rooms until a few weeks before the wedding when the "cut off" date is. They are charging us like 5% of the cost of renting the rooms (like 400) to compensate for any lost business they may have by not letting the general public have access to the rooms. If a certain number of guests reserve there we get our 400 back. If they don't we can use that 400 to stay at that hotel for our honeymoon or just let them keep the deposit. the guests will be paying for their own rooms however long they stay, we are just making sure one is available at a decent distance from the wedding activities. The manager has promised if we get X number he will give them a small discount since we are bringing so much business to him.

After the deadline if a guest has not reserved their room it becomes "public" again and the guest may still reserve it but their spot isn't guaranteed like it was before.

There will be an insert in the wedding invites for traveling guests where we will send them a wedding kit that will include info on anywhere we have blocks, as well as other options for travel, accommodations, and any restaurants or meals.
Source(s):
Blocks are especially important if there is a large event going on that same weekend like a football game or if there are only a few options that are close to your wedding locations. A good hostess chooses venues that will not REQUIRE a guest to rent a car unless she is proving transportation for the guests to and from wedding activities.


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Q- Do wedding guests expect us to block reserved rooms at area hotels?  We are not having it at a hotel, and most hotels require minimum use of their catering in order to block rooms. Is it poor etiquette not to block off rooms and simply allow everyone to make their own reservations?

A- If out of towners are willing to come to the wedding, they will accept full responsibility of finding themselves somewhere to stay. Guests are fully capable of making their own reservations - and if they don't want to, then they'll simply bow out of coming.

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Q- What are the benefits of blocking hotel rooms for my wedding?

A- There are many many benefits to blocking rooms at a hotel for your out of town wedding guests.  In addition to happy guests, you will also have

1. Some hotels may offer incentives to the engaged couple, such as a free night if a minimum number of rooms are booked for guests It is convenient and easy for guests to book accommodations in the room block
2. Guests may receive a special rate on rooms
3. Guests are guaranteed that a room will be available
4. Guests stay in one location, making it easier for them to socialize and making transportation and other issues easier
5. The front desk may distribute Out-of-Town bags to guests in the room block
6. The hotel location can be included on a wedding map, making it easy for guests to find their way around