FAQ

A hotel room block is a designated number of rooms set aside at a specific hotel, often at a discount rate. Those rooms are held for guests who are part of a specific group event or wedding party. Many hotels offer this service upon request, but it’s often a time-intensive endeavor to navigate if you don’t have experience booking a hotel block. 

When an occasion calls for friends and family to gather together at the same hotel, our team can find hotel properties that offer your guests a wonderful experience at an excellent price – all with minimal demands on your time.

To receive our free service, please note that courtesy room blocks must include at least 20 rooms per night per hotel. Guaranteed/contracted blocks require at least 10 rooms per night per hotel.

Hotels have different policies on the number of rooms they’ll reserve for a block — and also what they require from you as the host. Your customized proposal from us will outline your best hotel block options, but here is a short summary of the difference between hotel courtesy blocks and guaranteed/contract blocks:

• Courtesy Room Definition: A courtesy room is defined as a block of rooms held for your group with a cut-off date (usually 30 days prior to check-in). On that cut-off date, the hotel releases any unbooked rooms in your hotel courtesy block back into their inventory without financial obligation for you.

The Pros: A courtesy block hotel offers no financial obligation, which saves you money if you don’t have as many bookings as you expected. In other words, you won’t have to pay for those unbooked rooms yourself. Courtesy room blocks are particularly popular for weddings.

Cons: Rooms are held, but not guaranteed. The hotel can sell out and/or offer them to another group.

• Guaranteed or Contract Block Definition: This type of block is used for a guaranteed number of rooms. Your group will be required to pick up a percentage of rooms, also known as a hotel attrition rate (typically 70% to 90%). For example: If you contracted for 20 rooms x 2 nights, and the attrition clause’s rate is 80%, then your group would be responsible for filling a total of 32 room nights by the cut-off date (usually 30 days prior to check-in). If those 32 rooms aren’t filled, you can be charged for those unbooked room nights in your block.
  
  Pros: Rooms are guaranteed for your group and can’t be given away to others outside of your group. Hotels offer more upgrades and special promotions for guaranteed room blocks. These blocks are great for high-demand destinations and dates.
  
  Cons: You are obligated to fill a percentage of the rooms. 

The various types of blocks depend on your dates of stay, preferred hotels and event location. No matter what, your room block expert will explain your final hotel agreement, and answer any questions along the way.

COVID-19 UPDATE: Please note that we are working with our hotel partners to make sure any guaranteed block contains a clause voiding the contract in cases where guests cannot travel due to the pandemic. This way our clients aren’t liable for national and/or global circumstances out of their control.

It’s free! If you would like us to provide you up to five hotels, our service is completely complimentary. If you would like more hotel options, please explore our Premium Service below. 

Like a travel agent, our industry certification allows us to serve as an outside sales team and helps us get great pricing on a hotel room block for your guests.

Our services include researching available hotel options, negotiating great rates and managing the proposal/agreement process. That said, we offer two service plans:

Signature Service: FREE

This service level covers 95% of our clients. At this level, we identify rates at up to five hotels – these options can include specifically requested properties or ones we identify based on your parameters. The more information you give us to start, the more we can customize your proposal. 

Premium Service: $249

Want more options? The premium service includes a report of up to 15 hotels. It’s also ideal for clients who want more than two final hotel blocks for their guests. Let’s discuss your needs and see if the service upgrade is right for you.

Are All Your Hotel Rates Discounted?

The rates we present are the same or lower than what you could access on your own. The hotels’ rates are based on a number of factors beyond our relationship with the property and the number of rooms you need. Rates and potential discounts also vary based on availability, location, seasonality and more. 

That said, we always do our best to negotiate the best possible rates for you and your guests. 

When you should block hotel rooms for a wedding or any other occasion is pretty standard. The norm is 9-12 months in advance of your event date. The shortest turnaround time is three months. However, this likely results in fewer hotel options given the narrow window of time before the event, especially if the event takes place around the holidays or in the summer months. 

We cannot quote pricing more than 12 months before the event, as hotels typically don’t release rates that far in advance. 

We also recommend starting the process at least two months before you’d like to distribute the hotel block information to your guests.

Estimating the number of rooms you’ll need all depends on your guest list and your venue. Some good questions to ask yourself include: 

• Are you expecting out-of-town guests? 
• Will any guests be sharing rooms? 
• Is your venue in a remote location or a destination where people might prefer to spend the night? 
• Will the wedding couple or host(s) be staying there? 

While there’s no exact formula to determine a set number of rooms for you, we’d recommend making a somewhat conservative guess and encouraging guests to book early. Most hotels will add rooms after your initial block is fully booked, if they have the space available. 

Your customized hotel room block proposal includes up to five options with details on rates, the property and on-site amenities, room upgrades, parking and the contract terms. We will include these details for any of your requested hotels, if available, and other choices that match your specific needs.

Whether you know which hotel you want to use or you want our expert recommendations, Where Will They Stay can help. Just fill out our Room Block Request-ionnaire and note the properties that you’re most interested in, and we take it from there!

Please note that hotels keep records of all inquiries for discounted room block rates, and redundant requests could hurt our chances of getting the best rate for you. For that reason, please let us know if there are any hotels you have already been in touch with prior to contacting us.

The short answer? All of them!

We can assist with room blocks at hotels of any scale, from boutique properties to major resorts. We frequently work with brands including Marriott, Hyatt, Fairmont, Westin, Sheraton, Kimpton, Hilton, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Curio, Autograph Collection and so many more. 

With more than 15 years of room block experience, we find that our clients who choose one hotel are the happiest. Having everyone in the same place extends the celebration beyond just one event or one night and adds more time to spend together around the hotel pool, bar or lobby.

However, we know that guests can often have different budgets. For that reason, it can make sense to choose two hotel options at different price points. 

In rarer cases, hotel availability might require the need for more than one hotel to accommodate your entire party. Unless you’re having an event with a very large guest count and/or lots of out-of-town guests, we’ve found that more than two options are rarely needed. 

To receive our free service, please note that courtesy room blocks must include at least 20 rooms per night per hotel. Guaranteed/contracted blocks require at least 10 rooms per night per hotel. 

That’s perfect! Please note your event or wedding planner’s name when you send us your event details and hotel preferences, and we’ll make sure to thank them for the referral!

Wonderful! Please register with us as an event professional. 

Statistics show that the majority of people spend more than 500 hours planning a wedding. Why not save time and money where you can by using our free service? We save you the hours and hassle of calling, recalling and sometimes downright stalking hotels for the info you need. In addition, we also help walk you through any necessary hotel contracts or paperwork so you know exactly what to expect and how to navigate it all.

If a block needs to be canceled entirely, please contact us. Individual guest cancellations will follow the cancelation terms provided by the hotel.

COVID-19 UPDATE: Please note that we are working with our hotel partners to make sure any guaranteed block contains a clause voiding the contract in cases where guests cannot travel due to the pandemic. This way our clients aren’t liable for national and/or global circumstances out of their control.