How Do You Block Rooms for a Wedding?

EBooking a room block for a wedding means you’re reserving a pre-determined number of hotel rooms for your wedding guests. It’s a very efficient, economical and helpful way of making sure all your favorite people can stay at the same hotel(s) for your celebration. 

Here’s everything you need to know about how you block rooms for a wedding.

What Exactly is a Wedding Room Block?

Think of a wedding room block as a VIP reservation for your guests at a hotel. You’re asking a hotel(s) to set aside a number of rooms (usually 10 or more) at a special rate and with a dedicated, easy-to-use reservation link. This keeps your friends and family in the same place and guarantees they have a room, even if the location of the wedding gets busy, such as during holiday weekends. 

How Do I Start the Process?

Booking a block of rooms for a wedding is not as easy as calling the front desk. It’s definitely more complicated and time-consuming than that. You’ll need to:

• Do a quick head count: How many households are traveling from out of town?

• Pick your “vibe”: Do you want a trendy boutique hotel or a reliable spot with free breakfast, for example?

• Contact the Sales Office: The hotel’s sales department handles these bookings and supplies information on pricing, availability and contractual terms for the booking. 

• Review the fine print: Each hotel provides a contract for the room block. These contracts outline the hotel rate, “cutoff dates” (the day the rooms go back to the general public), additional fees and other terms. This complicated step is one of the many areas in which Where Will They Stay truly shines! We handle the negotiation of the rate and terms (hello, discounted rates!) and ensure the lengthy contract is agreeable before it’s signed. 

What’s the Difference Between a Courtesy Block and a Contracted (Guaranteed) Block?

With a Courtesy Block, rooms are held for your guests to book for a limited time (usually 3 – 6 weeks before your event date). Any rooms that aren’t booked by the cutoff date are simply released back to the hotel, and you’re not financially responsible for them. This option is virtually risk-free.

With a Contracted (Guaranteed) Block, rooms are held for your guests to book for a limited time (usually 2 – 4 weeks before your event date), and you agree to be financially responsible for a certain portion of the rooms if they aren’t reserved by your guests by the booking cut-off date. In return, you will typically receive lower pricing and additional perks. This option has some risk, but greater reward.

Some hotels only offer courtesy blocks, while others only offer guaranteed, however our hotel partners frequently offer both. Not sure which is right for your event? We’re happy to talk through the options with you!

When Should I Actually Book the Block?

The sweet spot is 9 to 12 months out. If you’re getting married during a holiday weekend, a graduation or a big local festival, you’ll want to move even faster. You want that booking link ready to go the moment you send out your save the dates.

Does It Cost Me Anything to Block Rooms?

If you go with a courtesy block, it’s usually 100% free for the wedding couple or host. The hotel just wants the guaranteed business! If you sign a contracted block, you won’t pay anything upfront, but you could see a bill later if your guest count falls short of the agreement.

Let Us Handle the Heavy Lifting for You!

Blocking rooms for a wedding is a big test – expect to spend 10+ hours researching, negotiating and finalizing the room block! That’s valuable time that can be spent on other things, so that’s what we’re here for. Even better, our service is 100% free. 

Where Will They Stay is your secret weapon for room block logistics. We do the hotel research, handle the back-and-forth with the hotels, and negotiate the best rates and perks (like free breakfast or late checkout) on your behalf.

Want to learn more about how it works? Just reach out today, and we’ll quickly make your wedding planning a much lighter load!