Instruction for Booking Hotels for Wedding Guests

Know How Many Rooms You need to Book

The first thing you need to do is to have an idea of how many rooms you will need for your guests. Once you know how many rooms you will need to accommodate your out of town guests, do some research so you know how much the rooms will cost. When comparing room rates, you will also want to know if there are any other events taking place the same weekend of you wedding like graduations or sporting games that can have an effect on the rates.

Choose from Two Block Room Type

When you go to block your rooms you usually have two options: courtesy and guaranteed.

A courtesy room is the most flexible option where you will not have to pay anything up front or be charged any penalties fees for unused rooms. They are usually limited to no more than 30 rooms for a block.

Guaranteed blocks are a good option if you are absolutely certain of the number of guests who will be booking rooms. This is ideal for destination wedding but you will be charged penalties fees if you guest end up not booking.

Call the Hotel

Once you have narrowed down you list of hotels, call directly to ask about the prices. Ask about any discounts you can receive for large reservations for booking hotels for wedding and see if there are cheaper rates to block rooms. You want to choose at least two hotels to give your guests a choice between a higher and lower rate hotel.

Make a Second Call

You will want to call the hotels second time and not mention the original rate you quoted. Ask them again about the rates for large booking and if the rate is higher than the first quote, then inform the reservationist about the price you were already quoted. Most often they will honor the original price you were quoted and do not forget to mention you are blocking the rooms for your wedding guests.

Consider Your Guests' Need

Make sure you properly accommodate your different guest. If you guests will have children with them, then you will want to make sure they have the right number and size beds to accommodate everyone that will be traveling with them.

Reserve Longer

When you make the reservation, you want to make sure you reserve the blocked rooms for at least one day before the wedding events and at least one day after your wedding events. For example, if you are planning on having a Sunday brunch after your Saturday night wedding, then you want to block the rooms through Monday. Your guest will be able to change the reservation date and arrangements when they go to make the actual reservations.

Know If There Are Any Discount or Services

If you book enough rooms, the hotel may give you a compliment room on the wedding night. Make sure you ask if they offer a complimentary room when booking.

Shuttle services are another thing you do not want to forget to ask about when booking hotels for wedding. Most hotels will offer shuttle transportation for you wedding and this ensure your guest will not have to worry about how they will get to or from your events.

Sign the Agreement

When you finally decide to book hotels, getting an agreement with this hotel can help ensure the hotel will have the right amount of rooms blocked for your wedding guests. But before signing, make sure you know about the requirements for blocking rooms with that hotel. Know what the cancellation policy is, deposits, fees and especially the last day your guests will be able to make a reservation.

Let Your Guest Know

Make sure you wedding guest know what number to call or that they have access to a booking code to make their reservation online. You do not want your guests to make their reservation unaware of the rooms you have blocked at the special rate they can benefit from. Make this information available on your wedding website or send out an email.

If you don't know where to start booking hotels for wedding guest, click HERE to find some nearby hotels at your wedding venue.