Feedback plzzzzzz-Other hotel options for guests?

[briscoecrown]

Hi folks...

 

I'm having a slight issue with some of my guests and need some feedback from you guys. Quite a few of my guests have asked for alternate resorts to stay at (mostly because of the costs). Now, I've battled with this idea from the beginning and decided not to provide a list of hotels in the area. Call it selfish or a way of keeping my sanity, but I didn't want to get involved with pricing & comparing amenities of other properties for my guests. I feel that if they want to stay somewhere else, it's their responsibility to do the research.... either through my TA, their own TA or a basic search online. As much as I want them to make the trip, I don't want to take on the extra task.

 

I've expressed it time & time again that they're NOT obligated to stay at our resort. They're welcome to stay elsewhere and I'll even take care of their day passes the day of the ceremony. HOWEVER, I don't want to be responsibile for making mulitple reservations and arranging transportation.

 

I recently sent out our invitations and this has started the line of questioning again. I feel that if I give into this request, it's just going to lead to additional questions (i.e. how much is it, how far is it from my resort, etc).

 

So my question is... Did you guys provide alternate lodging for your guests and to what extent?

 

 

Sorry for the longwinded post.

[Andi]

I am sort of having this same problem too. From the beginning we told everyone that they DO NOT have to stay at the same hotel that we are going to (although deep down I am secretly hoping everyone does, I know that might be selfish of me a bit but I just can't help but thinking that way).

 

In all honesty though if we do have people elsewhere it will be fine with us, but kind of a bummer because we won't spend as much time with them.

 

Ok sorry I am getting side tracked, NO I do not think that you should have to provide other options to your guests especially if you have made it clear already that you will be staying at X hotel but they DO NOT have to if they do not want to. I think it is totally up to them to find a suitable hotel for themselves.

 

I really do not think that you need the extra headaches of worrying about everyones accomodations!

[DanielleNDerek]

No I didnt provide alternate lodging. I just gave them my resort info and if anyone questioned about the price i just reminded them that its' all inclusive, sometimes i dont think people quite understand how much you spend on food and drinks when it's not all inclusive so when i told people that they didnt think the price was that bad. I also reminded them if they stay somewhere else they wont be able to hang out with everyone during the week.

 

Do not get involved in recommended other resorts. You did the research for your resort that was tough enough. They can ask the TA the questions about resorts. Just tell them you are only familiar with your resort and they should ask your TA for info.

 

Also be careful, some resort require you to have a certain percentage of guests staying at the resort in order to have a wedding there. I know Ruis do that and i think a lot of them do.

[rodent]

you shouldn't have to organize it.

 

I chose one of the least expensive hotels in the area hoping to avoid this issue. one of the big reasons why i wanted a DW was to all be at the hotel together. it was great!

 

also, be sure to check on day passes.

[JennyK]

Myself and my guests are staying at a totally different hotel than the wedding. I did this bc of 1) cost 2) all inclusive 3) I wanted the freedom to customize my wedding as much as possible without having to deal with the vendor rules. So far so good.. all I have to do is arrange transportation between both hotels but fortunately its only a 5 minutes drive so its not completely out of the way

[TammyWright]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielleNDerek No I didnt provide alternate lodging. I just gave them my resort info and if anyone questioned about the price i just reminded them that its' all inclusive, sometimes i dont think people quite understand how much you spend on food and drinks when it's not all inclusive so when i told people that they didnt think the price was that bad. I also reminded them if they stay somewhere else they wont be able to hang out with everyone during the week.

i did this also...if people wanted to stay elsewhere they could do their own research

[shellb]

I am with Danielle, Morgan and Tammy on this. We choose our hotel to suit guests (bugetwise and had children), told people you are free to stay elsewhere if you find a better deal, but please be aware of the cost of passes to get onto our resort (our resort $95 day, $95 night). And they still complained, you can't please everyone and you are going to drive yourself insane trying to find other accomodations for them especially if they don't like what you choose the second time around. I say point them to your TA or their own and let them figure it out.

[Duchess]

I provided one hotel which is not the one we are staying at. I provided a budget friendly option. I figured if people with more money wanted to upgrade, no prob. I certainly didnt provide them with any of the arrangements outside of that however. With an all inclusive that you are staying at, it probably makes sense to provide an alternative suggestion, but nothing more than "If you dont want the AI program, we suggest you try the Whatever hotel, which can be reached at 1-800".

[Myda77]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielleNDerek No I didnt provide alternate lodging. I just gave them my resort info and if anyone questioned about the price i just reminded them that its' all inclusive, sometimes i dont think people quite understand how much you spend on food and drinks when it's not all inclusive so when i told people that they didnt think the price was that bad. I also reminded them if they stay somewhere else they wont be able to hang out with everyone during the week. Do not get involved in recommended other resorts. You did the research for your resort that was tough enough. They can ask the TA the questions about resorts. Just tell them you are only familiar with your resort and they should ask your TA for info. Also be careful, some resort require you to have a certain percentage of guests staying at the resort in order to have a wedding there. I know Ruis do that and i think a lot of them do.

I totally agree. You already have alot to organize. I actually had to be a jerk about it and require that all my guests stay at the resort to attend the wedding. My dad's family is from Jamaica and would not have stayed at the resort if I didn't specify it. I would have had to pay a fortune in extras (food/bar, passes, location fee etc.) for guests who didn't stay at the resort. I haven't gotten a backlash from it yet, but I still have 6 more months to go.

I actually just came back from a destination wedding this past Tuesday, and in all honesty staying at another resort would have been a pain in the butt, and I would have missed out on all the fun! Communicating with guests at another resort would also bite. It would be a pain for them if you have events planned and they had to get to your resort to attend them. I wouldn't offer any options, but I would just tell them to check with their travel agent.

[ErikDaGenErik]

don't feel obligated! perhaps just get a hotel zone map and give them to your guests so they could see what hotels are near yours.