Hotel Recommendations for a Courtesy Block
Hotels that offer shuttle services:
Marriott Downtown (Shuttle fee applies)
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East Village:
AC Marriott - East Village
Staybridge - East Village
Embassy Suites - East Village
Downtown:
Marriott Downtown
Hilton - Downtown
Hyatt - Downtown
Des Lux - Downtown
Airport:
The Fairfield on Fleur
The Hampton Inn on Fleur
Holiday Inn on Fleur
The Ramada on Army Post Road
The Double Tree on Fleur Drive
West:
Staybridge West
Marriott West
Marriott Downtown (Shuttle fee applies)
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East Village:
AC Marriott - East Village
Staybridge - East Village
Embassy Suites - East Village
Downtown:
Marriott Downtown
Hilton - Downtown
Hyatt - Downtown
Des Lux - Downtown
Airport:
The Fairfield on Fleur
The Hampton Inn on Fleur
Holiday Inn on Fleur
The Ramada on Army Post Road
The Double Tree on Fleur Drive
West:
Staybridge West
Marriott West
As part of your packages with Out of Box we will arrange blocks for you, please click the link below to get started -
you are not limited to the hotels listed:
you are not limited to the hotels listed:
FAQ
What is a room block?
A room block is simple but it's often confused with other things. It is simple a guaranteed rate for your guests that is lower than the rate they'd get if they called the hotel directly. It also puts on hold a small handful of rooms for you (between 10 and 20) until a specific date (often a month or two before the wedding) for your guests to have access to those rooms at their special rate.
How many rooms can I receive in my courtesy block?
Courtesy Blocks often only offer 5 to 10 rooms on the rehearsal night and another 5 to 10 on the wedding night, for a total of 10 to 20 rooms total. This all depends on the size of the hotel, their block policy, and the time of year (big conventions or city-wide events can close down all blocks). If you need more than a handful of rooms you'll need to get blocks at multiple hotels or setup a guaranteed block (read about that in the section below).
If my guests book rooms can the block get replenished with more rooms?
Yes it can, but it depends on the hotel's availability. Hotels will often replenish your already booked rooms with fresh rooms into the block. Email the hotel directly to request this (they will not do it without you requesting for it to be done). Unfortunately, not all hotels can do this.
Can I see who's rented rooms so I can figure out who still needs them?
Yes, you can email the hotel for this information.
How soon do I need to sign the courtesy block agreement?
They usually expire in 7 days so do not wait too long to sign it. It's just a formality - the agreement doesn't hold you responsible in a courtesy block so just sign it and add the hotel information to your website. It's best to avoid over thinking this.
If I have guests stay at multiple hotels how to I get them to the ceremony on time?
You can't. There's no way to magically have them arrive at the same time. The guests will need to drive, car pool, or find an uber. Most hotel shuttles can not take guests to the ceremony. Those shuttles are for airport runs and also they are not usually big enough to hold all the guests and get them all to the ceremony on time.
I'm really disappointed to hear that I can't get the guests to the ceremony on time. If money were no object would there be a way to do it?
Yes, kind of. You could have all guests stay at the same hotel into a guaranteed block of rooms (you'll be responsible for making sure most all the rooms are booked or you'll have to pay for them), and then you could have a large bus pick everyone up at the same time and then drive them to the ceremony venue and then stay at there to take them to the reception venue. Then, of course, stay all night and take them back when they are ready. This often costs about $180 to $200 per hour for the shuttle (gas, tax, tip) x typically 8 hours. So it can run around $1700 per 50 guests staying at the hotels.
I don't understand. Why can't my guests ride the shuttles?
Shuttles are for small trips less than 1 mile away and mainly for airport runs. They can not be guaranteed to take guests to the ceremony and/or reception nor can they be guaranteed to be used for you to get to hair and makeup appointments or location shots for photos. You'll need to rent a private shuttle.
I just received my rate - and I'm in shock. This is MORE than what would be charged on Priceline or other discounted websites, how can this be?
This is because the hotels take in to consideration information you do not have access to. For instance, the hotels computer system will provide a rate based on past business that time of year at that specific hotel, they will look at current corporate and event bookings to see how full the hotel is (the more full - the higher the rate) and they will look at what conventions or events are happening that weekend that could spike up the cost (athletic events, city-wide festivals, fairs, etc.). You should still consider getting the block as once your wedding rolls around the hotel rate could even be higher. You can also contact other hotels that aren't 'near the action' and they may have better rates. Although this higher rate may be shocking or disappointing, it is completely normal.
A room block is simple but it's often confused with other things. It is simple a guaranteed rate for your guests that is lower than the rate they'd get if they called the hotel directly. It also puts on hold a small handful of rooms for you (between 10 and 20) until a specific date (often a month or two before the wedding) for your guests to have access to those rooms at their special rate.
How many rooms can I receive in my courtesy block?
Courtesy Blocks often only offer 5 to 10 rooms on the rehearsal night and another 5 to 10 on the wedding night, for a total of 10 to 20 rooms total. This all depends on the size of the hotel, their block policy, and the time of year (big conventions or city-wide events can close down all blocks). If you need more than a handful of rooms you'll need to get blocks at multiple hotels or setup a guaranteed block (read about that in the section below).
If my guests book rooms can the block get replenished with more rooms?
Yes it can, but it depends on the hotel's availability. Hotels will often replenish your already booked rooms with fresh rooms into the block. Email the hotel directly to request this (they will not do it without you requesting for it to be done). Unfortunately, not all hotels can do this.
Can I see who's rented rooms so I can figure out who still needs them?
Yes, you can email the hotel for this information.
How soon do I need to sign the courtesy block agreement?
They usually expire in 7 days so do not wait too long to sign it. It's just a formality - the agreement doesn't hold you responsible in a courtesy block so just sign it and add the hotel information to your website. It's best to avoid over thinking this.
If I have guests stay at multiple hotels how to I get them to the ceremony on time?
You can't. There's no way to magically have them arrive at the same time. The guests will need to drive, car pool, or find an uber. Most hotel shuttles can not take guests to the ceremony. Those shuttles are for airport runs and also they are not usually big enough to hold all the guests and get them all to the ceremony on time.
I'm really disappointed to hear that I can't get the guests to the ceremony on time. If money were no object would there be a way to do it?
Yes, kind of. You could have all guests stay at the same hotel into a guaranteed block of rooms (you'll be responsible for making sure most all the rooms are booked or you'll have to pay for them), and then you could have a large bus pick everyone up at the same time and then drive them to the ceremony venue and then stay at there to take them to the reception venue. Then, of course, stay all night and take them back when they are ready. This often costs about $180 to $200 per hour for the shuttle (gas, tax, tip) x typically 8 hours. So it can run around $1700 per 50 guests staying at the hotels.
I don't understand. Why can't my guests ride the shuttles?
Shuttles are for small trips less than 1 mile away and mainly for airport runs. They can not be guaranteed to take guests to the ceremony and/or reception nor can they be guaranteed to be used for you to get to hair and makeup appointments or location shots for photos. You'll need to rent a private shuttle.
I just received my rate - and I'm in shock. This is MORE than what would be charged on Priceline or other discounted websites, how can this be?
This is because the hotels take in to consideration information you do not have access to. For instance, the hotels computer system will provide a rate based on past business that time of year at that specific hotel, they will look at current corporate and event bookings to see how full the hotel is (the more full - the higher the rate) and they will look at what conventions or events are happening that weekend that could spike up the cost (athletic events, city-wide festivals, fairs, etc.). You should still consider getting the block as once your wedding rolls around the hotel rate could even be higher. You can also contact other hotels that aren't 'near the action' and they may have better rates. Although this higher rate may be shocking or disappointing, it is completely normal.
Need more than 30 rooms? Please read below...
In a nutshell Hotel Blocks only give you a handful of rooms for Friday/Saturday it's called a Courtesy Block. In order to get a large amount of rooms you have 2 options, they are described below:
Option (A) you would need to set your block up just like a corporate event would with a guaranteed block. Think of it like a conference that would bring employees into the area and provide them rooms at 1 hotel. This would mean that you'd have 1 Host Hotel. You'd have all your guests rooms saved for you would be responsible to making sure that the guests stay there. You'd be responsible for 90% of the rooms, so for example if you had 50 rooms held then you'd need to make sure that 45 rooms were booked or you'd be responsible for paying for these rooms (even if no one is staying there).
Option (B) is where you would have a handful of blocks at different hotels. You would be be taking all the free Courtesy Blocks from each hotel and then listing those on your website. This of course would mean that guests would be at different hotels, which isn't a huge deal, but they would just need to take care of their own transportation and I would not suggest gift bags as distributing those would be very stressful.
Option (A) you would need to set your block up just like a corporate event would with a guaranteed block. Think of it like a conference that would bring employees into the area and provide them rooms at 1 hotel. This would mean that you'd have 1 Host Hotel. You'd have all your guests rooms saved for you would be responsible to making sure that the guests stay there. You'd be responsible for 90% of the rooms, so for example if you had 50 rooms held then you'd need to make sure that 45 rooms were booked or you'd be responsible for paying for these rooms (even if no one is staying there).
Option (B) is where you would have a handful of blocks at different hotels. You would be be taking all the free Courtesy Blocks from each hotel and then listing those on your website. This of course would mean that guests would be at different hotels, which isn't a huge deal, but they would just need to take care of their own transportation and I would not suggest gift bags as distributing those would be very stressful.