I know first hand how overwhelming it can feel to dive into the world of hotel block reservations. It’s a question I see often inside the academy. So, today, we’re diving in and crafting a simple step by step process, with video tutorial, of how to streamline this process and make commission on the wedding hotel blocks you set up!
Simple Step By Step Process FOR SECURING A COMMISSIONABLE HOTEL ROOM BLOCK:
- It's best to reserve hotel room blocks about 10-12 months before the wedding.
- Snag the venue address for your event or wedding, and head over to HotelPlanner.com
- Create an account with your gmail account - start a New Group Booking and paste in your client's venue address and let HotelPlanner.com find the closest available hotels to the event for guests (guests love to be as close as possible night of) Try to keep blocks within a 30 minute drive of the venue.
- Secure between 2-3 different hotels so that guests can choose the price and location that’s best for them.
- Calculate How Many rooms you'll need - 100% for a true destination wedding, 80% of out of town guests for a local wedding. Divide that number by 2, and that's the number of rooms you'll need.
- Start out with 2-3 blocks of 10 rooms. You can add to your block as it fills up.
- PRO TIP: Ask your hotel contact if they can provide you with a monthly update on room bookings, so that you can ask for more if needed.
- LOOK FOR A COURTESY OR COMPLIMENTARY BLOCK ( Mitigation/Re-Sell Clause in the contract) This type of block means that your clients will not have a financial obligation to book all of the rooms.
- AVOID A CONTRACTED ROOM BLOCK (Attrition Clause in the contract): A contracted room block means that your client will be on the hook for a certain percentage of un-booked rooms in the block. Every now and then a client will be set on a hotel that only offers attrition contracts. That's fine, as long as, the client is full educated on this.
- Cut-Off: Usually there is a 30-60 day cut off before the wedding, where room block rooms are re-relased for sale to the general public. It's important to remind guests of this cut off.
- THE NUMBER ONE TIP / MISTAKE PLANNERS MAKE : Ask for A COMMISSIONABLE RATE + You must ADD YOUR AGENCY NAME + IATA # before your client signs the contract to collect commission.
PS – Yes, in this video I say BOE, but mean BEO (facepalm – lol)
Make Booking Easy For Guests
- Including a link to the hotel booking page for each block (which the hotel contact will give you directly after a contract is signed) on the couple’s wedding website makes booking easy.
- I’ve included a template email you can also send guests or put on the website to encourage booking.
- PRO TIP: HotelPlanner.com does offer a free booking page with links to all your confirmed blocks. However, it does offer other hotels and can be confusing for guests.
Example Email To Send To Guests:
[COUPLE’S NAME] ARE GETTING MARRIED!
And, we couldn’t be more excited to help make everything as stress free and enjoyable as possible for them and their guests.
We know first hand, that planning to travel for a wedding can very quickly become stressful, not to mention overwhelming with the amount of info online now.
Our team has secured [ xx ] hotel block options in [ CITY NAME ] for you to chose from. No more hours spent on Google or crowdsourcing opinions.
Here is a link to our hotel block options: [ LINK HERE]
We can’t wait to see you soon!
[ YOUR NAME + COMPANY NAME ]
Perks you can ask for when negotiating a block:
- Welcome Bag Distribution
- Early or Late Check Out
- Free WiFi
- A Free Hospitality Space OR Bridal Suite
- Transportation
