What to ask when looking at hotels??

Sum Bus

Myself and my OH are going to hopefully look around a couple of venues this weekend. To say I am nervous would be an understatement - I don't know what to expect or what I should be asking - could anyone help me??

And I've a few questions:
1. Would you recommend that they were set up for a wedding when you go or is it alright to look at it when its just an empty room??

2.What all do you ask on your first visit? What should I be looking out for - what are the most important things??

3. Do you negotiate and haggle on the first day?

4. Do you have to decide on a particular package (i.e with specific menus) on the first day??

5. How long does a viewing and chat with the coordinator take as we'd like to get at least 2 venues into a day - maybe this isn't possible??

we are hoping to get a few dates and go away and see will our church and a few suppliers (like photographer, videographer and band) be available for that day - that request is not too out of the ordinary i hope....

City boy turned country

Hi Sum,

The hotels that we went to view all followed the same process. We meet with the hotel co coordinator, they brought us to view the room. Some were fully set up, others had one table set up to give you an idea of the layout that was possible. After viewing the function room, they brought us around showed us were the reception would be after the church. Two of them showed us the bridal suite as well.

They will all give you a booklet containing package and individual prices. You dont need to pick anything their and then as they want a rough idea of numbers when you do that and you probably wont have them.

There is no point in haggling there and then as you need to sit down and see which hotel and package suits you and your budget best.

The questions to ask can vary. The ones I asked were:

Is there a fee for a late license or is that free due to the money that could be spent?

How many rooms will be reserved for the wedding?

Will we be able to taste the food before the wedding?

How much of a deposit do they require?

Will any future VAT reductions be passed on to us?

That's all i can remember

oal22

This was fairly easy for us as my OH had his heart set on a certain venue, so we really just went in to haggle! Although, we didn't tell them that at the time

First off all, many places will pencil you in for a few dates so that you have time to check the availability of your church. Such provisional bookings are generally only held for between 7-10 days, before a deposit is required to cement the date. if you have a certain month in mind, you could always ring your local parish before the weekend and ask what dates are available for that month.

The venue may ask if you have a ballpark figure in mind, and may quote you a price per head based on that. Before you go to see anywhere, do a rough count in your head of how many people you think you will invite (round this to the nearest 50)

There always seems to be a hidden cost that seems unnecessary. For example, paying a supplement for choice of courses. That's something to haggle over. Always ask what extras they are willing to throw in for free. For example, table centre pieces, chair covers , complimentary rooms for bridal party, free membership to leisure centre for bride and groom (if hotel/venue has this facility).

Also, find out about corkage fees if you intend to supply your own wine. A lot of places have reduced this. we were told they would cater it to our needs.....we told them we needed to not pay

Sum Bus

Thanks thats excellent help

Cathmandooo

I've finally just chosen my wedding venue so I've just finished the scout around hotels. I found that on my first viewing of a place I wouldn't ask much, the wedding co-ordinators generally have most information ready to list off to you while they show you around. You can get overloaded with information so I found it best to just listen and go home to think about the place.

If you can have a rough guest number and wedding date to tell them though.

Have a look through the hotel websites before going so you're familiar with the place.

The first meeting can take anything from 30 mins to over an hour, you should easily fit 2 in a day.

Best of luck with the hunt and enjoy yourselves

Heineken Helen

Cathmandooo wrote: »

I've finally just chosen my wedding venue so I've just finished the scout around hotels. I found that on my first viewing of a place I wouldn't ask much, the wedding co-ordinators generally have most information ready to list off to you while they show you around. You can get overloaded with information so I found it best to just listen and go home to think about the place.

If you can have a rough guest number and wedding date to tell them though.

Have a look through the hotel websites before going so you're familiar with the place.

The first meeting can take anything from 30 mins to over an hour, you should easily fit 2 in a day.

Best of luck with the hunt and enjoy yourselves

Yep, mainly the numbers and the date. Maybe don't go to your favourite option first... the first place we went, we'd NO idea how it worked and I was completely unprepared for the prices and stuff... not realising that they all quote a 'package' but all packages can be broken down to a kinda a la carte menu . Be honest with them about your expectations and what it is that you want from them and it's possible they can tailor things around you.

And yep, have fun... maybe take your time and have a drink at the bar once the co-ordinator has left you to it and get a feel for the place.

EternalCowboy

Sum Bus wrote: »

Would you recommend that they were set up for a wedding when you go or is it alright to look at it when its just an empty room??

After working wedding receptions for 3 years, I would definitely recommend that you view the room when it is fully set for a wedding. An empty room, or one that only has one table set, cannot properly convey the potential atmosphere. If you are interested in a venue but the room is empty when you view it, you should ask the wedding coordinator if you can come back right before an actual reception is taking place as this will give you an idea of the quality of setup they provide.

culsoh

Thanks. Hopefully going to look at 2 this weekend

mikemac

Something to ask if you will be the only wedding there on the day.
Most places do this

But sometimes there will be two weddings at the same time and the lobby can be packed before everyone sits down, can be a bit of a mess.
And the service can suffer as staff are overloaded

Just a simple question and easy to ask

smog

Things that you may forget or have forgotten about:

Bar - Is it in the room or separate (you may lose a lot of guests to the bar if miles away)

Smoking area - even if you dont smoke, some guests will and again you dont want them a 10 minute walk away.

Light in the room - make sure you see the room as its going to be on your day, if its a winter wedding, check the room when dark and vice versa for summer wedding. We made our shortlist based on this point alone. IE we really wanted windows rather then a dark function room.

Dont agree to anything there and then, tell them you have a shortlist made up and they will do a lot to get on that.

Costs - remember what costs. bargaining down menus etc they can only go so far. however when you hit that point, get the rooms for parents etc thrown in, this costs them net to nothing.

Late Bar - some places still try to charge for this. Get it agreed in package and also get (everything) in writing. May safe you hassle 6 months down the line.

what i can think of from the top of my head.