How are you dealing with deposits...

[cinnagirl]

We had 2 options depending on what airline company we wanted to fly through. Option 1 was for us to put down a deposit of $6,000 ($200 per person for 30 people) to reserve the group rate. Option 2 was for us to put down our own deposit of $300 and then everyone that wants to come has 90 days to pay their own $250 deposit. 

 

It just wasn't feasible for us to pay that huge deposit up front. Plus, we had so many people saying that they were excited to go but I wasn't really sure of their commitment level, so I didn't feel comfortable paying for them and not knowing if they'd back out. It's a good thing we've gone with option 2 because people are dropping like flies now. 

[2ndtimesacharm]

I will add on to my original comment and say that it definitely depends on how many you're planning on inviting and think will attend.  We made the decision this Jan to have a wedding in June and only invited 15 people.  We had to book 5 rooms for the group rate and knew that those 5 would come so we were fine with signing a contract.  I would be very conservative with the # of rooms you block off and if you are expecting alot of people then asking for deposits after save the dates are sent out is completely appropriate.  I believe the original poster said the deposit was $25/person and save the dates hadn't even gone out yet so in that case, I'd book a small number of rooms and pay the minimum deposit.  You can always add rooms to your room block this far in advance.

[JennyBenz]

Hi ladies! For any room block, they always require a room deposit, but be lucky it's only $25 person! Our resort asks for $50 each, or $100 per double occ. room, so we have to put up $3100 for deposit! But, one way to look at this- That deposit goes toward your stay, so it's one thing out of the way & taken care of. We are using gifts & bonds we received to put the deposit down. Since nothing else has to be paid upfront [atleast for now] just think of it as an investment and it's that much less you'll have to bring with you down there. It will work out!

[TheWolferts]

We held 32 rooms and had to put down $6,000 that would be refunded by the time we had to pay for the reception and other events. If we didnt book those rooms, we could reduce the rooms down to 23 rooms held and then incurred a $50 fee for each room we did not book under 23. We ended up owing $150. Trying to decide how many rooms to hold, especially knowing that we were charged if we didnt fill them, kept me up many nights! We had quite a few people that we thought without a doubt would be there but various things, like couples getting engaged and needing to put the money to their wedding/HM and my cousin having a baby 2 weeks before my wedding ruled them out as well.

[Oct 2012 Bride]

Terrihug-

 

We had a small group to begin with. We only invited 37 people and we have about 20 total going. So it actually worked out really good. At first we were thinking about getting 15 rooms so we will have the group rate for everyone. But the more the thought about it, we decied to stick with our " we know with out a shadow of a doubt they are going" number of people. I think we are allowed to drop 2 rooms without a penalty. In addition our TA told us if we had more rooms than what we requsted then if it is still within a month or 2 later the rates should be the same. So we made sure to let people know the rate could/would go up if they don't reserve by the due date we gave them. That ensured the serious people paid. Anyone that waits too long, well they know not to expect to get the same rate. If they do great. But if they don't then they can't complain because we gave enough warning.

 

Really the most important thing is how much can you afford? How much to do feel comfortable paying for? And what size is your group? If you have a large group then it adds up fast. And you might want to figure out something else.

[Nino]

Hi girls,

 I decided to book our group rate with the company that my sister works for, so I thought I was getting a great deal. We got our group rate and the travel agent told me I had to pay a 400 deposit to block 15 rooms, and that was it. Everything had to be paid by May 16. I told all of our guest the price and the date it had to be pay by, the date was approaching and no one other then us had bought their ticket, asking people they told me they had found the same hotel and same flight for a couple of hundred cheaper. So I talk to my TA and he said that there was nothing he could do about it, and the date of final payment was approaching so i had 2 options: cancel the group booking, but by doing this I had to pay a $3200 penalty, or I could leave it and hope that people decide to pay the price that we had, but if I took that option I would have to pay the full price for 10 ppl, flight and hotel.

He never told me anything about that when we decided to go with a group booking. Also never sign a contract, it was all through phone and email.

At the end I decided to cancel the booking and pay the penalty, and let all my guest get their tickets on their own...that way they cant complain about the price. for some reason when he change our tickets from group rate to normal Transtat refunded the full amount of my ticket.( I have a receipt from Transat saying that I paid in full, and I have looked at my tickets on line and they say confirm) he did charge me 3200 to my visa so i have a refund for $3900 and a payment of $3200. so at the end i only pay 3600 including the 400 deposit for our 2 weeks in Maya riviera. I haven't talk to him about it I'm scared that if I say anything he may charge me the rest... hopefully everything works out fine and i don't have any surprises when I go and get my seats. 

 

Good luck everyone

 

54 days to go....YAYYYYY

[Branya2012]

In order to book a set of rooms (10 altogether) and hold a price, we needed to deposit $200 per person by last September for our trip this December. We didn't really feel comfortable asking everyone for a deposit, so instead we emailed all of the people that had expressed an interest in coming after we had sent out our save the date cards. We had 4 of the rooms pay their deposit, as well as our own deposit, and then we paid deposits for the 5 other rooms, reserving 10 rooms in total. We ended up paying about $2,400 for deposits that will go towards our trip (and should essentially cover it, so it's nice to have that paid for!). Like Oct 2012 Bride said, though, it all depends on how much you can afford when the deposits are due! $25 is pretty reasonable, but if it doesn't work financially, then maybe there is another way to go about depositting, if you feel comfortable asking for help? 

 

Clearly our deposit amount ($200!!) was A LOT more than what you ladies are saying, but that's what our travel agent told us needed to be done so we just went along with it. We were okay with the price at the time because that money is for our trip, and it that much less for our final trip payment.

 

It's interesting to see what everyone else has done!

[terrihugg]

Hey everyone, 

 

I appreciate all the responses. We decided to just go ahead put down the initial deposit ourselves. There is no doubt that $25 pp is very reasonable for a deposit. Regardless, putting down $1,000+ upfront is still a lot of money. (At least I think it is) But I really don't feel comfortable asking for money from our guests right away. 

 

What I did was make a wedding website and let some people know it was up. On the website I said that deposits of $25 pp deposit is due at least 5 weeks from receipt of save the date. I will be sending save the dates soon.

 

Thanks so much for the input everyone. It was really a big help. 

[maridr2012]

To have a group rate locked in I was forced to sign a contract, otherwise my guests would be paying whatever rates were available when they booked and I wanted to make it as easy as I could for everyone and also not have to field all the BS calls from guests ; )  So...I signed a contract for only 10 rooms which is what was required for a group rate.  I had my bridal party & immediate family call the TA and book their rooms within 30 days of me signing the agreement - which was the requirement so the 10 rooms wouldnt get charged to my card. That fulfilled the requirement, and now, each guest that calls in to book a room under my group rate, my TA contacts me and asks my permission to add them to the group rate. If guests bail on me last minute I would assume a penalty based on a very complex cancellation policy, but in order to avoid that the TA is strongly suggesting guests to get additional insurance and is telling them they are responsible to pay for any cancellation fees applicable to their room based on the cancellation policy.  This has worked out well so far for us.

[inloveinkorea]

We are planning on putting down the deposit ourselves. I already feel overbearing by asking people to early RSVP 8 months before the wedding. Our TA said that if people cancel, most resorts give 90 days to reduce the number of rooms you reserve.