Blocking a hotel- how many?

[Amanda.Rx]

Hey there!

I was just curious- At how many different hotels did you block rooms?

I''ve heard the "rule" is 3- at 3 different price points. I''ve already picked 1, and I feel that it would be much easier for me if all the guests stayed there, but I''m not sure if that would make them happy.

What do you think?

 

[sunnyd]

We only did 1 - the hotel where our wedding is taking place. Seemed pretty logical, especially since we got a kick ass rate on the rooms ($89 from $149!!).

If the one you picked has reasonable rates for what you get, then I''d think that was fine. Much less hassle to manage as well.

 

[musey]

We only blocked rooms at one, but listed other hotels on our website. We live in a major metro area, it wasn''t a holiday weekend... there was really no need to block off multiple hotels for our guests. We reserved 10 rooms to start, and only one was ever booked! People did just fine fending for themselves.

 

[MagsyMay]

Hmm my post just disappeared!

I have never attended a wedding where they had 3 different hotels listed. I remember one where there were two listed, but usually only one is listed. I guess if someone really wants to bargain hunt, that''s their own decision. Most of the hotels we''ve stayed in for weddings have been pretty reasonable though, so we never bothered.

What do you girls think is a "reasonable" amount for a hotel room in a block?

 

[meresal]

We had 2 hotels, but everyone called asking where "everyone" was staying. So they all ended up at one.

Both of ours were around $150-175/night, because the hotels were in the downtown area. If there had been a La Quinta or something of the similar, we would have put that on there, just for people that weren''t worried about staying at the main place.

I would try and put one hotel below $100/night and one above.

 

[MagsyMay]

Date: 10/15/2009 3:04:36 PM
Author: meresal
We had 2 hotels, but everyone called asking where 'everyone' was staying. So they all ended up at one.


Both of ours were around $150-175/night, because the hotels were in the downtown area. If there had been a La Quinta or something of the similar, we would have put that on there, just for people that weren't worried about staying at the main place.


I would try and put one hotel below $100/night and one above.

Thanks Meresal for that info! I'm glad to hear someone else had "pricier" hotels because I'm pretty sure if we want a hotel remotely near our wedding venue right off of Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, that it will be sort of pricey. I feel sort of bad about it, but I'm not sure there's much I can do.

 

[meresal]

Magsy- You'd be surprised how many people don't really mind, because there is so much to do around there, and no travel expenses. You can walk!

I would much rather pay more for a hotel in a GREAT area, than stay at a hotel in the middle of no where. FYI... the hospitality industy is really struggling right now, so I bet you can get some really good deals!

 

[tropiqalkiwi]

Date: 10/15/2009 3:06:37 PM
Author: MagsyMay


Thanks Meresal for that info! I''m glad to hear someone else had ''pricier'' hotels because I''m pretty sure if we want a hotel remotely near our wedding venue right off of Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, that it will be sort of pricey. I feel sort of bad about it, but I''m not sure there''s much I can do.

Magsy, we just had our wedding downtown in Chicago and we booked a block at the Fairmont right next to Millennium park for just $109 per night. You just have to call around and pit the hotels against each other.

Ok Threadjack over ..... in response to the the main question of how many hotels, I think if you can find one fairly nice hotel for around $100 per night you should be fine leaving it at that. I also like the idea of simply listing other hotels (without pre-booking them) in the area if you think your guests will want more variety.

 

[marlie]

i am blocking rooms at 2 hotels. i''m in nyc and things get seriously pricey here and i got pretty good deals for the area. One is a marriott and one is an embassy suites. They are within a 5 minute drive from each other and the wedding itself. We''ll also list 2 of the pricier hotels in that same neighborhood in case some people want to live it up.

 

[kama_s]

We booked two hotels, one was of a slightly higher end (a resort) and one generic (Hilton). Both were less than 5 minute drive from the reception venue.

 

[MagsyMay]

Date: 10/15/2009 3:40:18 PM
Author: tropiqalkiwi

Date: 10/15/2009 3:06:37 PM

Author: MagsyMay



Thanks Meresal for that info! I'm glad to hear someone else had 'pricier' hotels because I'm pretty sure if we want a hotel remotely near our wedding venue right off of Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago, that it will be sort of pricey. I feel sort of bad about it, but I'm not sure there's much I can do.

Magsy, we just had our wedding downtown in Chicago and we booked a block at the Fairmont right next to Millennium park for just $109 per night. You just have to call around and pit the hotels against each other.

Ok Threadjack over ..... in response to the the main question of how many hotels, I think if you can find one fairly nice hotel for around $100 per night you should be fine leaving it at that. I also like the idea of simply listing other hotels (without pre-booking them) in the area if you think your guests will want more variety.

Thanks! Amanda, sorry for the mini threadjack

 

[vc10um]

I think if you can get hotel rooms near the $100 mark (give or take $20, maybe) I think your guests will all be satisfied. I do know, however, that many people prefer to stay in certain branded hotels because of rewards programs/etc, so listing a few of the more popular hotel chains (Intercontinental (which owns Holiday Inns, etc), Marriott, etc) in conjunction with the room block wherever you choose, might not be a bad idea just so your guests can find all their information in one spot.

 

[mayachel]

I think it depends on the size of your wedding as well as the hotel. We are inviting about 180 people, many of whom are out of town guests. BUT 1) the inn where the wedding is does not allow us to block rooms, 2) each of the hotels we contacted only allow us to block 20 rooms at a time. Clearly this does not get us near to the about 85 rooms or so that we may need. With that in mind, we are advising guests to book early, and of their option between the three.

 

[emeraldlover1]

All of our guests were from OOT and I only blocked one. It made it so much easier from a transportation (we provided) perspective. I did however pick the hotel with the best price for that reason. There was a hotel close by that I loved but the average priced room was $250 and I didn''t feel right asking my guests to pay that so I found a lower priced alternative. No one complained with having only one option.

 

[Keepingthefaith21]

We took advantage of the economy and haggled with area hotels. We got a great rate at a good place and solidified that as our only "blocked" hotel. We did tell people about other options avalible by word of mouth. However, we felt we got such a decent rate there was no reason to offer anything else. Our wedding is in a city which meant there were quiet a few alternatives for people who felt our room block rate was too high.

I''d go with just one to keep things easy on yourself. If people are not happy with what you booked, they can explore their options. As Meresal said, most people will go to the hotel where "everyone" is staying.

 

[Amanda.Rx]

Thanks, ladies!

That makes me feel better that most kept it around 1-2. I was getting overwhelmed. I just feel kinda bad b/c the hotel is kinda in the middle of nowhere, but it''s < 1 mile from the wedding ceremony/reception, and I''m trying to explore providing transportation, if we can afford it.

The rate is $103 per night. About 1/2 of our guests are OOT (~ 75 people)

I think I''ll take your suggestions and list other hotels around the area is some of the "hotter spots."

Thanks again!

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

Amanda,

Glad you figured it all out! I think it''s a very nice gesture to find multiple options for guests, but as someone else said, they often fend for themselves, anyway. We blocked at only one hotel. It''s not the cheapest in the area, but not horrendously expensive. (Ha. Nothing in Cleveland is outrageously priced, really). We''re providing transportation from our blocked hotel *only*, so we reaaaally wanted to emphasize that to guests. Otherwise no one would use the transportation and we''ll have wasted $600.

On our STDs we listed about three other hotels with their phone numbers. It made finding alternative temporary-digs a bit easier for OOT guests, though I''m hoping most will stay at the Hyatt.

Good luck on deciding whether or not to set up a block at a hotel in a "busier" area. I really think you''ll be fine with the hotel close to the wedding venue, though!