Wedding Hotel Blocks Explained

Accommodations are an integral part of the planning discussion when you’re inviting guests from out of town, and hotel room blocks are one of the most common ways to help your guests out. If they are going to the trouble to travel for your event, you want to make sure their stay is set up for success. They should be able to navigate accommodation options comfortably and easily. However, hotel blocks are not for everyone or every event. Here is a breakdown of what a hotel block is, how it works, and whether it is a fit for you and your guests.

WHAT IS A HOTEL ROOM BLOCK?

A room block is an agreement reached between you and a hotel to block out a group of rooms at a set rate for the date range of your event. That means that the rooms you block are only available to your guests and are unavailable to the general public. 

Often, hotels will extend a discounted rate in exchange for a guarantee that a certain number of rooms will be booked for two or more nights. Those rates can range between 5%-20% off of their seasonal rate, depending on the hotel. The average discount is typically about 15% off. The minimum number of rooms you must block can range anywhere from 5-10 rooms. Hotels typically require a minimum of 10 rooms to be blocked for a minimum of two nights.

HOW DO HOTEL ROOM BLOCKS WORK?

There are two different types of room block arrangements. An attribution contract, which is the most common kind of room block contract, requires that a couple blocks off a minimum number of rooms and holds you financially responsible for the block. Some attribution contracts include slippage, which means that the couple must fill a percentage of those rooms or pay for the difference. For example, a hotel may require a minimum block of 10 rooms for your party and require that 80% of that block be filled, meaning that you are financially on the hook for 8 rooms whether your guests book them or not. Slippage rates are typically between 80-90% of the minimum room block required.

A courtesy contract is the second and most flexible kind of room block arrangement. This is where hotels block off a certain number of rooms until a set cutoff date, typically three or four weeks before the event. At that cutoff date, the hotel releases any unfilled rooms to the public with no penalties to the couple.

Every hotel operates differently, but many hotels will allow you to start at the minimum threshold for room blocks and add on additional held rooms as your room block fills.

Under an attribution contract, you may set up an initial room block of 10 rooms with a 80% room slippage obligation. When the ninth room in your block is filled, the hotel can automatically increase your block to 11 rooms so that there are more available to your guests who have yet to booked, while maintaining an 80%+ fill rate that keeps you financially off the hook. 

Under a courtesy contract, you may set up an initial room block of 10 rooms and add on additional rooms as the block is filled to allow more space for your guests.

Photos courtesy of Kate Miller Photography.

IS A HOTEL BLOCK THE RIGHT FIT FOR ME?

If you have a strong contingency of guests traveling from out of state to an urban or suburban celebration, then a hotel room block is a great accommodation option to consider. Room blocks encourage people to stay close to one another, which makes it easier to coordinate rides and carpools to events. If there is a local three- or four-star hotel option that you like with a courtesy contract in place, it never hurts to set aside those rooms for your guests.

Many city-based hotels have event spaces you can rent out for tertiary events, like welcome parties or goodbye brunches. By holding tertiary event(s) at the hotel, you reduce the amount of driving your out of town guests need to do. If your venue is close to the hotel, there may also be a shuttle service or transportation partner that will drive your guests to and/or from the event for free or at a partner discount rate. Some hotels will also throw in a suite for free as part of the package for the bridal party to get ready. There are a lot of advantages to a hotel room block if enough of your guests want to stay in the same area.

Of course, if all the local hotel options have attrition contracts, you have to consider your options more carefully as you have a financial investment at stake. In this scenario, we think it's best practice to set up a hotel room block if you have a group of close family members and a bridal party that will participate in the room block. Those key members of your celebration are often the people that other guests will consult with for advice on where to stay, and if enough of them are staying in a room block, others will follow. Having close family and friends commit to the room block also means that you will reach the minimum quicker and that any incremental increases will come at no charge to you. It’s a win-win-win all around.

Hotel room blocks are not a great fit if your guests are independent travelers. The rise of vacation rental booking platforms makes accommodation research so much easier than in decades past. If your travelling guests are mostly Millennials, if your family tends to stay with each other or in rental homes, and if your event is being hosted in an urban or suburban setting with lots of accommodation options, then we do not encourage you to create a hotel room block. What we find is that most out of town Millennial guests like to choose their own adventure when it comes to travelling for events and that many do not opt into a hotel room block. In city environments, there are just too many options at too many price points that could perfectly fit your guests’ needs and easily sway them away from a middle-of-the-road hotel block. We also find that, if none of the core family is staying at the hotel room block, other guests are less likely to book. 

— Kate, Tapestry Creative Director + Founder