Do You Need A Block Of Hotel Rooms For Your Out Of Town Guest?
Every Bride wonders if they need a block of rooms for their out of town guest that will be coming to their wedding. The answer is simply Yes. If you will be mailing any invitations to out of town guest it is customary that you block of rooms to be set aside. Getting a block of rooms should be near the top of the to do list next to booking the ceremony and reception site. This is do to the fact that if for some reason you are unaware of a big event in town like a Notre Dame vs USC home football game, or a Convention on your wedding day it will be near impossible to have a place for your wedding guest to stay comfortably and safe as all rooms will be sold out or expensive if booked last minute.
Getting a block of rooms is easy:
1) Call around for prices. Count up ahead of time how many out of town guest invitations you may have. Think of how they will sleep if they have older kids and will need two rooms. You will want to get a reasonable price for your guests.
2) Search the web like Hotels.com to get reviews of the property before settling on price. Even though you have probably driven by the hotel hundreds of times and it looks fine from the outside doesn't mean you want your guest staying there. Service or the rooms could be a nightmare. You may even want to check it out in person and take a tour.
3) Once a price and location are agreed upon, call that hotel and let them know you need a block of rooms, and how many. Some hotels may have a minimum numbers of rooms to block off that can be dropped 30 days out from the wedding where others will work with a small quantity of rooms within a block. Inform them it is for your wedding for your out of town guest. You may even want to ask your hotel representative if there are any big events coming in town that weekend that may sell out the hotel.
4) You should receive a contract that states the cut off date to cancel any rooms, terms and conditions of the hotel, price should be included and even a deposit maybe needed if you are planning around a home football or basketball game. Be sure to read the contract fully and if you have any questions or scenarios that may or may not happen speak with the hotel to make sure those questions or concerns are answered.
Now that you have your rooms, make a custom note on your computer to enclose with each out of town invitation. List the hotel name, address, phone, price, your contact person from the hotel, the dates of the room block with the check-in and check-out date, and that you have a hotel room block under your name. You will want to enclose all this information on your handcrafted note, so should any of your out of town guest have any questions such a non-smoking room, or an extra bed request they may have those questions answered easily without having to call you or parents for more details.
Be sure to mark the cut off date in your calendar. You may also want go over your RSVP cards to double check whom you have from out of town guest coming and match that with the Room Block reservations that have confirmed rooms before letting the block go. Once you release the rooms, the rate and availability usually go up and become scarce.
It's really easy. Hotels work with Brides all the time from receptions in their halls to providing rooms for the Bride's guest. Check out your local hotels for more information. Your out of town guest will thank you that you have gone the extra mile so they can have a good time to share in your special day.
