Searching for a nice, affordable hotel for your out-of-town wedding guests can be stressful. Luckily, Taylor & Hov has an in-house hotelier with years of hospitality experience. Over the years, Anna has picked up a few tips on how to make the wedding room block process a little smoother. There are so many things to worry about in order to execute your perfect day so hopefully these tips will relieve some of that stress; because who really wants think about room blocks when you have vows to memorize?
1. Be Informed Before Choosing Your Wedding Date.
When large City Wide events like conventions, sporting events, and graduations are happening, hotels offer significantly higher room rates. If you are looking to book your rooms at a lower rate, check out the CityWide Calendar on the Destination DC website (or the convention and visitor bureau’s website of the city you are in) to see what dates are less full. Hotels will be able to offer you lower rates and are more likely to honor special requests like early check-in and rooms on the same floor when they don’t have a completely full house
2. Be As Accurate As Possible.
When signing a contract for a room block you will come across an attrition clause. Hotels charge for attrition if you partially cancel the rooms from the contracted room block. Most hotels permit an attrition allowance of up to 20% of the contracted revenue. If it exceeds 20% then you will be responsible for 100% of the contracted room revenue. Be sure to remind your guests about cut-off dates and to book a room within the room block, otherwise it can negate the low room rate for your whole group.
3. Pay Attention to Check-In/Check-Out Times
Most hotels have a check-in time of 3 PM. If your wedding is in the early afternoon, encourage your guests to book their rooms the day before. This will give them a little time to settle in and ensure they don’t have to get dressed in the hotel lobby bathroom. For guests whose schedules won’t permit them to arrive a day early, have them call the Front Desk the day before they arrive and find out what hotel occupancy is. If the hotel is not at full occupancy, chances are the rooms that were vacant the night before will be ready for check in bright and early! Check-out times are usually around 11 AM or 12 PM. If your guests’ flight is not until the evening, the front desk should be able to store your luggage after check-out until you are ready to depart.
4. Keep the Front Desk Informed.
Be sure to prepare a wedding weekend itinerary for your guests. I can’t tell you how many times wedding guests call the Front Desk to ask questions regarding the wedding they are attending.. The Front Desk can distribute information upon check-in, along with key packets and any gift bags you may have prepared. Also, make sure you include important details in your itinerary like breakfast arrangements and shuttle arrival/departure times.
5. Say Thanks!
Be sure that you thank all the hotel staff! Everyone from the bellman who carried your 100 lb. suitcase to your suite to the women at the Front Desk who had to listen to your Great Aunt complain about the traffic on the drive in.
If you’ve found a nice hotel that’s affordable, you’ve done your job! Now go worry about your honeymoon and let us handle the boring stuff.
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