Booking group rates often involves negotiation.
It is extremely flexible, with no deposit at the Hampton Suites. The manager is only hesitant to give us more rooms until we start receiving RSVP's. So far we have 10 rooms. 5 Rooms with a king size bed and 5 with 2 queens. It has a pool, hot tub and work out room. The rate negotiated down to is $109.00 per night, with any additional nights optional and they will honor the wedding rate.
The Holiday Inn Express and Homewood Suites are the next people I need to have conversations with. We stopped in the to the Homewood Suites yesterday, and I was not about to go into negotiating group rates with the person who was there. He told me they book solid every weekend, and the Holiday Inn Express person told us the same thing. She told us on the phone that they normally are $130 that weekend. I find it hard to believe that both hotels "book solid", considering we live out in the middle of nowhere. The Homewood Suites is adjacent to the Hampton Suites; with just as empty of a parking lot.
It is good that we have one of our hotels down to $109.00 per night for our guests. We can now tell the other hotels about this rate. So far, this has been an area much like the site fee negotiation, where you should be confident in your negotiating. It is important to us to get a very fair rate for the hotels.
My advice for booking hotels? Do not let them tell you they do not offer group rates because they book solid. The Hampton Suites was really nice and didn't try to make any more money than they already are making off of us that weekend. The Holiday Inn Express and Homewood Suites I have yet to negotiate with.
Here is a sample of one of the rooms at Hampton Suites. I hope our guests like it!
Enjoy the engagement!
Krystal
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