This Wedding Wednesday we’re going to tackle one of the crappiest parts of wedding planning – arranging for the out-of-town guest hotel block. I’m not even joking when I tell you that figuring out the wedding’s entire microscopic budget was filled with less poo then arranging for that friggin’ hotel block.
Image Courtesy of: Glamour
Basically, I forgot to do it but the save-the-dates went out, people started emailing, and I realized that it was time. So I went on Google to try and figure it out. And you what? There ain’t nothin’ out there! So, enter my (discovered via Twitter and OMG-do-I-lurve-her) friend, wedding planner extraordinaire, Liz Coopersmith of Silver Charm Events.
I reached out to Liz, explained the situation, and she kindly answered my question. In a nutshell? This is a pretty easy task to conquer once you know the right phrases to ask and the right people to call. See Liz’s answer to my hotel block for out-of-towners question on Broke Ass Bride.
Image Courtesy of: Jumdia
The other part of the whole hotel thing is to know your crowd. I knew that only a handful of people would book rooms at the hotel but this group would be expecting a nicer than average hotel but not as fancy as a 5 star. So I did a bit of Google research and eyeballing the neighborhood and found this Holiday Inn. Built in the last couple of years, it features modern furnishings and a resturaunt + fitness center + indoor pool. And all for $99.00 a night (during Memorial Day weekend). SOLD!
In the end, what started out as a nightmare of not understanding and not knowing turned into a pretty easy task with a little know how and the right keywords.
Image Courtesy of: Crosby Street Hotel
If you’re interested in booking a hotel room block at this San Antonio Holiday Inn then please contact Melissa Kim in the Sales Department. She was great and SUPER helpful. Another note? Try to book at least one day before your wedding and have check out the day after – this will allow your guests a little breathing room when planning their stay.
Did any of you book your hotel room block yet? What it easy? Awful? Confusing? Did you get a deal or get screwed? Share away!
Jessica@TWB says
For some locations (mostly in larger cities, but also randomly elsewhere) you have to guarantee a minimum room count. Like, sign a contract kind of guarantee. This makes it so hard to 1. guess the right number to block (don’t want to go over OR under your guests’ needs) and 2. be laid back about when guests book their rooms (the sooner they do it, the sooner you can add more to the block). This was a huge headache for me.
Ashley says
Mine was super easy… Two hotels within ten minutes of the venue, so I googled and tripadvisored to find which was best and they set aside the block of rooms. We also have their conference room for me and my girls to get ready in.
Maybe that’s one of the advantages of having it in a rural place… not a lot of other options. 😉
Koru Kate {Koru Wedding} says
Thankfully, our hotel & venue were one so this was pretty easy for us. Bonus: when the hotel posted a $99 room special weeks before our wedding, they allowed our guests to switch to this lower rate 🙂 For me, the true wedding planning nightmare was our rehearsal dinner!
Liz says
Mine was easy, too. I submitted a request for group rates on the Hilton site, as the closest hotels were all Hilton properties, and a rep contacted 5-6 hotels in the area for quotes ad availability. We ended up getting a block at the Hilton Garden Inn. No minimum room guarantee or deposit required (especially crucial when half of the groom’s side backed out at the last minute). A few months before the wedding, the hotel called to get venue info in case guests asked for directions, to see if we needed a shuttle, to see if we wanted to host a cocktail hour or brunch (or wanted to pay for meal passes), to let us know when we’d need to get them anything to go in the guest rooms, etc. I’d go through Hilton for another event.