Who Pays For Hotel Rooms For Wedding Guests

Who Pays For A Hotel Room Block

You, as the couple are only setting up a pre-negotiated rate for a block of rooms. Typically, each guest books and pays for their own room.

Setting up the pre-negotiated rate helps your guests organize their travel plans by gathering some options close to your reception, and it helps the hotel be prepared for a larger group for your dates.

In most cases, it is not expected for the couple or host to pay for their guests accommodations, even with destination weddings.

Mistakes Brides Make When Hosting Out

Extending your wedding day to an entire weekend where you spend time with loved ones makes getting married even more magical. Brides hosting out-of-town guests usually plan relaxing get-togethers and catch-up dinners for up to three days . But before you schedule that agenda, steer clear of the following hostess pitfalls.

Determine How Many Rooms Youll Need

This depends on your guest list. Figure out how many people are traveling in from out of town that are going to attend, says Ayers. If 50 percent of your guest list is traveling, try to match that percentage. As most guests travel in couples or bunk up with friends, youll want about half the number of rooms for the total number of guests who will need them, plus a little buffer. For example: If you have a 200-person guest list with 50 to 60 percent of guests traveling for the celebration, youll want to hold space for about 120 guests. That equates to 60 rooms, but dont worry about it being perfect If not everyone needs a room, the bridal party or other friends and family will fill in, Ayers adds.

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Don’t Ignore The Bag Itself

You’ll definitely stock your welcome bag with nice presents, but don’t forget about the bag everything comes in. The bag itself is an opportunity to give your guests something that they’ll use beyond your wedding day. It can be a simple reusable grocery bag or a nicer tote bag, but think of the bag like your wedding favor and your guests will be thrilled.

Do We Have To Stay In The Same Hotel As Our Room Block

Not necessarily. While many couples opt to stay alongside their guests, others choose somewhere more privateand more upscale. This gives the couple an opportunity to recharge and relax, but it also ensures that guests wont feel pressured to spend beyond their budget when it comes to lodging. The one exception is a destination weddingparticularly one where the reception is taking place at the same resort your guests will be booking rooms at. If youre inviting people to another country to celebrate you, it would be strange if you stayed somewhere else, says Hall.

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Book Wedding Room Blocks At Multiple Hotels

Beaman said that booking 2-3 hotels has two main benefits:

• Price. Give multiple options for your guests to choose from so they can choose the work within their own budget. The price should be a difference of least $50 between the lowest price and the highest price hotels, Beaman said.

• Perks. Many hotels offer a free room or suite to the couple if they fill up their room block, Beaman said. By getting a room block at a second or third hotel, you increase your chances of getting these same perks for parents or grandparents if those blocks fill up.

But again, when booking, make sure you know the hotels policy. Know the minimum number of rooms required to book contract details, such as cancellation policies and any perks the hotel may offer for booking a room block. Bring up your concerns and questions before committing.

How Far In Advance Should You Block Hotel Rooms For A Wedding

The short answer is, as early as possible. Honestly, it can never be too early to block hotel rooms for wedding guests. Once the destination has been selected and the venue has been booked, the hotel rooms can be blocked. By blocking the rooms far in advance you ensure that you get great group rates and avoid any disappointments in the future. Our team at Wedaways can definitely help you block your hotel rooms, negotiate the best rates and ensure that there are no problems with the process with as much or as little advance notice. However, we suggest that you reach out as soon as possible to arrange this. For holiday weekends and high seasons, we suggest blocking the rooms at least a year in advance. But, hotel blocks can be contracted anywhere between 18 months to two months before the wedding.

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Here Are A Few Rooms You May Have To Pay For

OfficiantIf the officiant is coming from out of town, it is considered proper etiquette to pay for his/her room for the night of the wedding. You can always iron this out ahead of time by talking to the officiant at the time of booking.

Friend in needMore often than not, this is a common problem. There is always a bridesmaid that genuinely cannot afford to come because of finances. Considering that each bridesmaid may need to spend over $1,000 between the travel, accommodations, hair, makeup, and dress, it is not out of the realm of reality to assume that someone will not be able to afford it. While you certainly dont have to, you can choose to help this person with their accommodations.

One bride who felt guilty about the amount of money her bridesmaids were spending for hotel rooms ended up offering to pay for the hair and makeup. Not only were the bridesmaids happy, it got everyone together a few hours before the wedding, making for a fun get together.

FamilyWhile you certainly dont have to, many couples will choose to pay for parents and in some cases, the siblings too. Again, this is not expected by anyone so dont feel obligated to do so. In most cases, your parents and siblings will hold up their own end but be ready to help if they need it.

The three cases above are exceptions to the rule when it comes to paying for guest rooms. And while youre free to pay for anyones room, it is not an obligation.

How Many Rooms Will We Need

This question is a little more difficult for me to answer for you, because it depends a LOT on YOUR guest list.

As a starting point, I recommend looking at your guest list and seeing which guests are a) likely to attend and b) traveling more than 30-45 minutes to your wedding destination.

If your guests are more local, some people still prefer to get a room to have a nice night out and keep the party going. But not as many rooms will be needed compared to when a majority of guests are doing a lot of traveling.

When counting, youll want to count couples and families as one room as they typically stay together. So two guests who are partners = one room. Dont forget to count yourselves and any parents, immediate family, wedding party, and VIPs who will need a room for getting ready.

While you can set up an open block for more rooms than you think youll need, I dont recommend asking for a block of 40 rooms if you know youll only need 10. If youre choosing a guaranteed block, Id opt for as close of a number needed as you can estimate to keep your budget for other priorities.

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Should We Book A Suite

If you can afford to do so, its generally a good ideaespecially if youre coming from out of town. Youll likely be traveling with more than usual, and chances are high that parents, relatives, and members of the wedding party will want to stop by at some point. If your accommodations have the extra space of an additional seating area, that can make things easier.

Few Rooms The Bride Or Groom May Have To Pay For

While some things should be covered by the couple, wedding guests should definitely expect to pay for some aspects of the weekend. Nonetheless, the few rooms the bride and groom may have to pay for include

If the officiating minister is coming from out of town, it is would be nice and a proper etiquette to pay for his/her room for the night of the wedding. You can always iron this out ahead of time by talking to the officiating minister at the time of booking.

This is can sometimes be a common problem. There is always a bridesmaid that genuinely cannot afford to come because of finances. Note that considering that each bridesmaid may need to spend over $1,000 between the travel, accommodations, hair, makeup, and dress, it is not out of the world of reality to conclude that someone will not be able to afford it.

Although you are not mandated to, you can choose to help this person with their accommodations. One bride who felt guilty about the amount of money her bridesmaids were spending for hotel rooms ended up offering to pay for the hair and makeup. Not only were the bridesmaids happy, it got everyone together a few hours before the wedding, making for a fun get together.

Indeed, there are generally accepted etiquette guidelines for who pays for what when it comes to destination weddings. Each wedding is unique and it is up to you to figure out what works best for you, your partner, and your guests.

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Another Option Is To Let Them Rent A House Nearby

Many vacation destinations offer tons of rental homes for a week or a weekend. If you have 8-10 in your bridal party, then renting a house will be cheaper than paying for individual hotel rooms.

Lastly, in many cases, if you block a lot of hotel rooms, the hotel will provide a room for free to the bride based on the comp ratio. For example, if your hotel offers you a comp ratio of 1:20 then for every 20 rooms booked under your wedding block, you would get one free.

Know The Magic Words For Perks

When a hotel gets back to you with their rates, ask if they offer any special concessions based on the pickup.

A hotel will know what you mean by that, says Ayers, who explains that concessions are special perks given to a couple for hitting a percentage of rooms booked within their block. The pickup is usually higharound 90 percentand perks can vary. What Ayers often sees is an upgraded suite for both sets of the couples parents, or the ability to book a suite at a standard room rate.

If youre willing to get a little craftyand youre confident in the number of rooms your party will bookpickup concessions can also be another reason to go with more than one block. If you know youll book 90 percent of your block at each hotel, you can spread those perks to more wedding VIPs, like grandparents or members of the bridal party.

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But I Feel Bad About Asking Them They Are Doing So Much For Me

You can expect to feel a bit guilty asking the bridesmaids and groomsmen to pay for airfare, hotel, and gifts. In an economy as unstable as ours, that is a lot ask of anyone to do for you.

However, as the bridal party, they knew about the expenses they would incur when they agreed to be a part of it. And if there is grumbling about expenses, then why not help them find a solution.

Ways To Book Wedding Hotels

Pro Tip: Its best to reserve rooms with different bed sizesking, queen, and singleto make sure that there are options to fit each guests needs.

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Cut The Guest List Down & Offer To Help

If even once you change your venue, guests cant attend, youre not out of options. But these options are going to require more compromise.Your first potential choice is to cut down the guest list to a more manageable size. You can then offer to help pay the way of the most important guests: family members, wedding party members, and anybody youre particularly close to. This will represent a significant cost to you, but there may be no other way to get your loved ones to your destination wedding.

Failing that, you may have to scotch the idea of heading abroad to tie the knot. Its not unreasonable to have a destination wedding and expect people to pay to get there, but it is unrealistic to expect that everybody can. That doesnt mean you have to have a conventional wedding, though you can still get married at a destination of sorts, on a beach on the south coast, for example, or in a beautiful woodland setting.

How Do You Negotiate A Hotel Room Block

You get help from the professionals! As a luxury travel company with a specialty in the wedding space, we are privy to preferred pre-negotiated room block rates at hotels all around the world. Once we identify the properties suitable for a room block, we reach out to our direct contacts and start to communicate about rates, length of stay, concessions and more. By engaging our services, you dont have to worry about asking hotels for room block prices or negotiating the terms. Weve got you covered.

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Dont Overlook The Check

You certainly dont want your out-of-town guests to have to get ready in the lobby bathroom, but that can happen if your ceremony starts before guests are allowed to check in at the hotel you reserved. As a result, we always request early check-in for all guests, Ms. Strauss-Goldman said. If theres no early check-in, your guests may want to book their room the night before the wedding as well.

Fortunately, we didnt encounter this issue. Guests were able to check in at our hotel at 3 p.m. and our ceremony didnt start until 5:30 p.m. But looking back at our contract I discovered that guests were subject to a $25 early arrival fee if they wanted to check in before noon, which is something we could have negotiated.