Blocking rooms??

so im completly lost when it comes to picking hotels and rooms and i did some research but everything says something different.

My wedding is 8/16 of next year and 100% of the guests will be OOT so i want to send out STDs by the end of september. I figured i should include hotel info but when i called one hotel near my RH they said too early?

Can anyone give me some guidence??

how many hotels should i block rooms at?
How far in advance should i block?
Should i include this info in the STD? and should they be blocked before i send them out?

anything else i should know about room blocks and hotels? do i just call and ask to block? how do i know how many rooms i need? and will they require any money upfront to do this?

im sorry there are a million questions. Im so lost......

thanks!!!!!!!!

It really depends on the hotel, they all have different policies. Your best bet is to call a few and see what they say.

I know when I was looking, most hotels wouldnt let me block off more than 15-20 rooms, some even less. If we reached our max, some would open up a new block for us if there was availability in the hotel.

Also be careful, because some hotels do require you guarantee a certain amount, that you are responsible for if they are not booked.

I'd definitely book in a few places, if you have that many OOTs then you dont want to get shut out. I never knew this, but LI hotels get sold out on the weekends during wedding season.

I would book as soon as you can....some hotels might say its too early, but others will let you book now.

Good luck.

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Posted by Camroy

I'm starting to work on this also. Do you include the info in the save the dates or is it not necessary?

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You dont have to, but if you have a lot of people traveling it might be a good idea.

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Posted by KimberlyScott

I think it's a good idea to put the hotel information together with the save the dates. If you have a particular hotel that you would like to block and they are telling you it's too early you can put on your STD's that as such and such date, rooms will be available for booking at a discounted rate.

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i second this- it worked for me!!!

Some hotels told me they won't block rooms until 50 weeks before the date.

Some said I would not be responsible for the unused rooms and they would be open to others a month before the wedding if not reserved. Others said I had to guarantee 40% of the rooms I blocked needed to be filled or I would have to pay.

I think if eveyrone is from out of town, then you should definitely send the STDs with hotel info. Some people may try and reserve rooms on their own as soon as the STD arrived.

If hotels are limiting the number of rooms you can block, then get more than one location. I've always liked getting STD with more than one hotel option - usually because the prices vary.

just make sure that you are not responsible for unbooked rooms.