how to hold hotel rooms for a wedding?

Question

I wanted to hold some hotel rooms for my out of town guest, but they want me to sign a contract, and I have not even sent the invites out yet, I was trying to be ahead of the game but I don't want to sign a contract and my out of town guest don't show up, then I am responsible for paying for the rooms. What do I do or how far in advanced do I take care of the hotel attangements

Answer 1

take care of the rooms as soon as you get an idea of how many people from out of town are going to be coming in. Ask the hotel how far in advance you have to book for group rates, and try to get an RSVP from out of town guests by the time the hotel needs.

Answer 2

Just read the contract carefully. I signed a contract with a hotel long before I knew how many people would be staying over night. The contract probably says that the hotel will hold some number of rooms and your guests need to call the hotel and reserve the room with their own name and credit card. There is usually a date that this has to be done by (like a month before the wedding). Then, after that date, the hotel gives the rooms away to other people. That way each of your guests is responsible for their own hotel room and you aren't expected to pay for any of them.

Answer 3

First off is this a destination wedding or is it in town but you are having the wedding at the hotel? If it is in town then I would contact the hotel about holding a block of rooms, this way you are not paying for the rooms, maybe just a small deposit for the holding, and your guest will pay for the rooms. You would have them held under a party name when they set their reservation. I would hold as many rooms as you have out of town guests and remember there will be couples and families so if 100 people came you would probebly only need 50-45 rooms. I would also count your wedding party and your parents, the people who are going to stay at the event the lastest and help clean up. If it is a Destination wedding I would check into blocking 45- 50 rooms, that should hold 100 to 120 guests. If the hotel doesn't allow that I would let your guests know of hotels in the area on an insert in your wedding invite so they can book themselves.

Answer 4

It really depends on the hotel. Busy hotels require more advance notice. Each hotel has different rules on holding rooms for weddings.

What kind of contract do they want you to sign? If it doesn't seem reasonable to you, go to a different hotel. You are the customer and you have the right to go somewhere else if you don't like their policies.

Be sure that both you and the hotel understand what's going on. Make sure that they know this is for a wedding and what you expect in terms of guests (rough guesses should be fine). Don't be afraid to ask questions (what does holding a room really mean for that hotel?)

Answer 5

Do it as far in advance as possible--there could be an event in town that weekend and it could be hard to find rooms.

That said, find a different hotel! I am not responsible for paying for the rooms at the Comfort Inn where my guests will be staying. That is not common practice. At most hotels, you reserve some rooms, but if your guests don't book them by a certain date (maybe a month before they will arrive, or thereabouts), the hotel opens the rooms to the public.

Congratulations!

Answer 6

This is a mistake lots of couples make when they are blocking hotel rooms. They sign contracts that hold them responsible for unused rooms mostly because they are not aware of another option. You can ask the hotel for an open room block (aka courtesy room block). This is the kind of block where you don't have to put up a deposit and you are not held liable for unused rooms.

Unused rooms are "released" back to general selling by the hotel about 3-4 weeks before the wedding. To learn more on how to get a courtesy room block, you should read this article: http://grouptravel.org/wedding/what-is-a-courtesy-room-block-do-i-need-one-for-wedding-guests/

Answer 7

Make sure it states on the contract that the individual guest is responsible for paying for the rooms. If it states that YOU will be paying for the rooms with YOUR card, then find another hotel!

Take care of those as far in advance as you can, especially if its in a popular area. They will hold the hotel rooms until 30 days prior to the check in date. After that they release them to the public.

But since you are saying they want YOU to pay, I would suggest going to another hotel that allows the individual to reserve a room.

Answer 8

Put in a note saying you would like to hold hotel rooms for out of town guests and request that they RSVP at an earlier date (you pick the date) and to let you know if they would like you to try and hold a hotel room or if they will be making their own arrangements.

I would also check with other hotels to see what their policies are regarding holding rooms.

Answer 9

Word of advice...Don't get caught up in booking hotels with contracts unless you absolutly have to accomodate. I could understand if your getting married on a mountain or an island and there's no hotel for miles. But I live in NYC and these hotels are looking to make money and signing contracts are not for me. Your tied into something that you can't break. I would just suggest various hotels and let the guests deal with this. Everything is online, it's sometimes cheaper online and if they backout your responsible with these contracts. They also ask for a credit card!!! The only thing you should find out is about check in time, a range of affordable hotels. In NYC check in starts at 3-4pm so make it clear to people.

Answer 10

Use a different hotel!! I reserved a block of rooms at two hotels for my wedding, and neither of them made me agree to pay for the rooms if the guests didn't show. Call a different hotel, ask them to reserve a block of rooms, and they should just hold X number of rooms for your guests up until about a month before the wedding. They'll give you a deadline for when rooms must be reserved by. After that deadline, they'll release any extra rooms rather than holding them for guests. We used Holiday Inn and Comfort Inn, and we didn't have to sign a contract agreeing to pay for the rooms for either one.