Over the years I’ve dealt with my fair share of wedding planning challenges. It’s inevitable that last-minute changes will occur. However, there’s one service provider that always comes through for me and that’s the hotel!
Dealing with the hotel is so simple. I find the perfect hotel, guests book their stay, everyone has a great time, then they leave. I never have to worry about the hotel once it’s booked. While I may have a minor customer service matter to deal with from time to time, that’s usually it! Unlike other vendors, the hotel can’t be late for the wedding and it’s always in the same location!
However, based on the title of my post, I’m sure you’re aware that I’ve recently learned a valuable lesson. Never say never.
I’d like to introduce you to Rachelle and Matt (Photos by Sarah Wockenfuss). Their 2020 Baltimore wedding was postponed due to COVID. As you can imagine, finding a new date that was available for all of our secured vendors was interesting, but we figured it out! Throughout the process, there were lots of changes to accommodate the new date. We hired a new caterer and changed the reception location. We also made major adjustments to the wedding day timeline. Throughout all the modifications, making changes to our hotel was the easiest. It only required a quick call and an email to book our new room block. Everything was great…until it wasn’t.
Approximately 1 month before the wedding, I received an email from our hotel. The email simply stated that our room block had been canceled and we needed to choose a new hotel. I remember my exact response after reading the email. I laughed. I laughed because out of all the things I thought would go wrong, the hotel was not on the list!
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only issue. As we worked with the corporate office to secure a new location, we experienced the worst customer service you can imagine. First, we accidentally found out that the hotel already knew that our room block would be canceled at least 5 months before the email was sent. Then, as we were trying to narrow down our hotel options, they tried to automatically choose a hotel for us without our input. From there we experienced everything from unanswered calls and emails to inaccurate information which made the process very painful. If I had to rate this hotel and their service, they would definitely receive 1 star!
For the next couple of weeks, my couple and I worked to find a hotel to fit our needs. It was difficult. With only a short time before the wedding, most locations were booked or didn’t meet our expectations. We finally secured a new hotel a couple of weeks before the event. We had to make several adjustments to accommodate the new hotel and its distance from the venue. Our original hotel was less than one mile away from the venue. The new hotel was nine miles away and located downtown. For those of you that are unfamiliar with Downtown Baltimore, I’ll sum it up in one word, TRAFFIC. We had to make several wedding day timeline adjustments to build in time for travel delays. We also had to change all of our plans for the couple’s pre-wedding dinner and post-wedding brunch. It was a lot of work, but we made it happen!
Like most of my posts, I’m sharing this cautionary tale to help those that are in the process of planning a wedding. While I ultimately learned that our hotel cancellation was related to the pandemic, moving forward, I will always keep this situation in mind for future events. Moving forward, I will be better prepared for unexpected hotel changes by:
Ensuring the room block contract includes detailed information regarding cancellations made by the hotel. While there was general language in the contract, I had no idea what to expect when the unexpected occurred!
Securing more than one hotel for guests even if you don’t need it. This can be as simple as getting a courtesy room block at a suitable hotel nearby. That way, if your main hotel falls through, you’ll have an automatic backup option!
Communicating often with the hotel representatives. Typically, communication with the hotel is minimal unless there are issues. There’s usually lots to discuss as we are working to sign the contract. After that, periodically, I’m reaching out for an updated reservation list. Then, about a month out from the wedding, I’m confirming details. Moving forward, I will communicate more often to ensure I’m aware of all updates in a timely manner.
While this particular situation occurred due to COVID, I will never forget it. I now have a plan to be extra prepared no matter how secure things may seem!
Of course, in this case, I was super lucky to have this situation occur while working with an amazing couple that was down for the ride! As you can see, despite all the hotel nonsense, Rachelle and Matt had an amazing time with their guests! And that night, everyone had a place to sleep!