A very important step in the planning is to block (reserve) rooms for your guests. You will be offered two very different options to manage your room inventory and maximize your “extras”- amenities & resort credits based on your overall group size.
With traditional group contracts, wedding guests arrive and depart on the same days, get the benefit of fixed pricing for lodging, and participation in group activities is ensured. This is always helpful when planning. Traditional contracts have a lot of restrictions and require a deposit for all rooms held in the block. For weddings & groups this is a good option for travel in high season, working with a small property and with large groups.
The attrition policies (rooms held but unsold) for destination weddings are strict. If the contract is for 25 rooms, but only 20 are sold before the final release date, the additional five rooms can be released back into inventory. No problem, right? Wrong! Once the cutoff date passes, if the attrition policy is 100% for the remaining rooms, and two additional rooms must be released because guests can no longer attend, the couple will be required to pay for those unused rooms.
Additionally, what if the contract is for five nights’ accommodations, but some guests can only come for three nights, do they just not come? Do they book outside the group? Are amenities then lost because the rooming threshold for amenities was not reached?
The flex group is another option for creating your group. With a flex group, guests get to choose the dates they are able to travel, which allows more guests to attend. Guests are also able to travel from any origin at any time and still be considered part of the group. This means they will still receive the same group amenities as those offered to traditional groups.
Flex groups do have risks: lodging prices are not guaranteed, nor is inventory. While this can create a little inconvenience, setting RSVP deadlines and good communication with invited guests is critical.
Working with a professional wedding & group travel planner is key. The season and day of week when your events are occurring, size of your group, where guests are traveling from and more factors will help guide your room contract decision. Travel with Pepe & our sister company ConciergeConnection will be there to guide you from start to finish!
Travel with Pepe, a BH Travel Associate 