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Wedding Hidden Charges & Conditions List

Gamb!t

I didn't see one of these threads on the board so am starting one to help people like myself who are new to this wedding business and for this thread to act as a check list sort of template when booking hotels for weddings.

We've been actively looking at hotels for our wedding day the last month and have found a few insightful tips from managers we have spoken to with regards to hidden charges or conditions hotel's fail to mention when booking / putting down deposits.
Whether these are true or not I don't know but a few examples;

Bar prices can change after 10 o clock in hotels on weekends.
Service charge for meal.
A second wedding at the same venue on the same day.

Certain amount of rooms booked by guests for your wedding if you want to use the hotel.

Just wondering are there any other people who have discovered these last minute charges/conditions hotels fail to mention at the time ?

There is nothing worse than deciding on a place only to find these hidden surprises later on in negotiations.

By right the hotel should really outline this in their terms and conditions.

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allabouttrad

Gamb!t wrote: »

I didn't see one of these threads on the board so am starting one to help people like myself who are new to this wedding business and for this thread to act as a check list sort of template when booking hotels for weddings.

We've been actively looking at hotels for our wedding day the last month and have found a few insightful tips from managers we have spoken to with regards to hidden charges or conditions hotel's fail to mention when booking / putting down deposits.
Whether these are true or not I don't know but a few examples;

Bar prices can change after 10 o clock in hotels on weekends.
Service charge for meal.
A second wedding at the same venue on the same day.

Certain amount of rooms booked by guests for your wedding if you want to use the hotel.

Just wondering are there any other people who have discovered these last minute charges/conditions hotels fail to mention at the time ?

There is nothing worse than deciding on a place only to find these hidden surprises later on in negotiations.

By right the hotel should really outline this in their terms and conditions.

Dont forget the extra charge per person if you opt to have 2 choices for your main course
Some hotels give a discount if you get married on a weekday
not all hotels include chair covers and room decorations in the price

Sleepy

Late Bar charges aren't uncommon. I think it's rare that a couple agree to pay for it though.

Gatica

I don't believe the charges you mentioned are usually "hidden charges". I mean, maybe some of the hotels you have come across didn't give this info up-front, but personally I have found that information in their brochures and they were up-front about having to book-out the bedrooms, the extra charges incurred for choice of courses is also pretty standard.
The bar prices is definitely something that should be checked though. We found out how expensive some places were only through friends, as one doesn't generally think of this when visiting venues.

mathepac

Sleepy wrote: »

Late Bar charges aren't uncommon. I think it's rare that a couple agree to pay for it though.

"Late bar charges" - do you mean payment for a late licence, which requires an application and court / solicitor's charges? I think you'll find that if it's the late licence it's not an optional charge; couples requiring late drinks will need a licence and will be expected to pay for it. The fiddle that some hotels were accused of last year was charging for a late licence but not applying through the courts for one and serving late anyway (illegally).

Sleepy

Yep, the late bar license is what I'm talking about. Most people I know that have been approached about paying it have told the hotel they expect it to be included in the package since the hotel will be making money from their guests during the extended bar hours.

Yes, there's a cost to the hotel for providing a late bar but it's one you can reasonably expect them to absorb in light of the fact you're providing them with thousands of euros worth of business and your guests will be providing them with room rentals, buying drinks from their bar, possibly food, spa treatments or other ancillaries the next day etc.

Our venue included it without us even asking for it but other venues where I was told it'd be extra it was very clear that it was on the table for negotiation tbh.

sushisushi

In addition to the extra charge for the extra menu option, we've also come across a surcharge for specific dishes, usually specific cuts of lamb or beef.
And extra charges for non-alcoholic drinks as well as wine for the guests, when the initial brochure made it look like they were included in the price (the non-alcoholic drinks, not the wine!)

Penny Dreadful

sushisushi wrote: »

In addition to the extra charge for the extra menu option, we've also come across a surcharge for specific dishes, usually specific cuts of lamb or beef.
And extra charges for non-alcoholic drinks as well as wine for the guests, when the initial brochure made it look like they were included in the price (the non-alcoholic drinks, not the wine!)[/QUOTE]

I point blank refused to pay for this. There will be a good few non drinkers at my wedding in June and I told the hotel that I didn't want these people to have to fork out for their drinks and others who did drink wine, to get at least twice as much. It just wasn't fair.
After some back and forth it was agreed that coke, 7 up and diet versions of the same (from large bottles at the bar, not small glass bottles) would be availabe for those who didn't want an alcoholic drink.

slowmoe

We were told by one venue that we had to hire the whole place at a cost of a few grand, but in the brochure they have written that bride and grooms accommodation for the night is complimentary. We told them and they said they offer it with their compliments, ie compliment of well done on the marriage!!!

mathepac

@slowmoe, there may be a slight language deficit / crossed wire there, I'm not sure on who's side:

complimentary - nice remarks - "That's a grand shkirt Norah"

Complementary - free, on the house - "The champagne for the toast is complementary."

sweetie

....and which compl(i/e)mentary means that red wine goes well with steak?

Gatica

slowmoe wrote: »

We were told by one venue that we had to hire the whole place at a cost of a few grand, but in the brochure they have written that bride and grooms accommodation for the night is complimentary. We told them and they said they offer it with their compliments, ie compliment of well done on the marriage!!!

When the venue is for exclusive use, they usually require that all of the rooms be paid for or guaranteed by the couple.
Irrespective of the play on words.... usually the Bride and Groom's room is free on the night (i.e. they will not charge you for that particular room), while the rest must be paid for one way or another. So if your guests book out the hotel, you're ok, if not, then you have to pay for each room that wasn't paid for (except your own). This is not uncommon practice, especially at smaller venues...

John Mason

Sleepy wrote: »

Late Bar charges aren't uncommon. I think it's rare that a couple agree to pay for it though.

we agreed to pay it, as our venue are charging for nothing else.

slowmoe

Gatica wrote: »

When the venue is for exclusive use, they usually require that all of the rooms be paid for or guaranteed by the couple.
Irrespective of the play on words.... usually the Bride and Groom's room is free on the night (i.e. they will not charge you for that particular room), while the rest must be paid for one way or another. So if your guests book out the hotel, you're ok, if not, then you have to pay for each room that wasn't paid for (except your own). This is not uncommon practice, especially at smaller venues...

The venue said venue hire charge is x which includes all the rooms. The bride and grooms room is not free as confirmed by the venue

donalg1

When you are booking the hotel get something from them in writing and say is this the final price before you sign anything, pretty simple from there on out.

Gamb!t

Gatica wrote: »

I don't believe the charges you mentioned are usually "hidden charges". I mean, maybe some of the hotels you have come across didn't give this info up-front, but personally I have found that information in their brochures and they were up-front about having to book-out the bedrooms, the extra charges incurred for choice of courses is also pretty standard.
The bar prices is definitely something that should be checked though. We found out how expensive some places were only through friends, as one doesn't generally think of this when visiting venues.

I probably could have written it a bit better,what I meant was during round 2 of negotiations where we had the deposit and went through the fine details other conditions were then mentioned which could have been mentioned first day.

Sleepy

irishbird wrote: »

we agreed to pay it, as our venue are charging for nothing else.

Not even the meal?!

Gatica

slowmoe wrote: »

The venue said venue hire charge is x which includes all the rooms. The bride and grooms room is not free as confirmed by the venue

Sorry, I hadn't realised that from your comment. Then you're right, that definitely sounds more underhanded.

Gamb!t wrote: »

I probably could have written it a bit better,what I meant was during round 2 of negotiations where we had the deposit and went through the fine details other conditions were then mentioned which could have been mentioned first day.

I should've been more clear by what I meant too. I definitely agree with this list of things hotels will probably not tell you (unless you read really fine print or ask them straight-up yourself):

A second wedding at the same venue on the same day.
Bar prices can change after 10 o clock in hotels on weekends.
not all hotels include chair covers and room decorations in the price.

I think the following are commonly found in brochures though:

Service charge for meal.
Certain amount of rooms booked by guests for your wedding if you want to use the hotel.
Dont forget the extra charge per person if you opt to have 2 choices for your main course
Some hotels give a discount if you get married on a weekday

However, unless you've done a bit of previous shopping around on venues, these things may come as a surprise to some.

John Mason

Sleepy wrote: »

Not even the meal?!

well the meal we are paying for but not a set meal, we are ordering from the main resturant menu and we buying their buy but not paying menu price.

Wedding food is horrendous, i wouldnt pay for that. we are getting the use of the room for free (service, meal and party), decorations, chair covers etc.

the only thing we paid for was the food, wine and bar extension.

Gamb!t

Gamb!t wrote: »

I didn't see one of these threads on the board so am starting one to help people like myself who are new to this wedding business and for this thread to act as a check list sort of template when booking hotels for weddings.

We've been actively looking at hotels for our wedding day the last month and have found a few insightful tips from managers we have spoken to with regards to hidden charges or conditions hotel's fail to mention when booking / putting down deposits.
Whether these are true or not I don't know but a few examples;

Bar prices can change after 10 o clock in hotels on weekends.
Service charge for meal.
A second wedding at the same venue on the same day.
Added:
Extra charges for choices on main course.
Extra charges for seat covers.
Bar Extension Fee.

Certain amount of rooms booked by guests for your wedding if you want to use the hotel.

Just wondering are there any other people who have discovered these last minute charges/conditions hotels fail to mention at the time ?

There is nothing worse than deciding on a place only to find these hidden surprises later on in negotiations.

By right the hotel should really outline this in their terms and conditions.

Updated.

mathepac

irishbird wrote: »

well the meal we are paying for but not a set meal, we are ordering from the main resturant menu and we buying their buy but not paying menu price.

Wedding food is horrendous, i wouldnt pay for that. we are getting the use of the room for free (service, meal and party), decorations, chair covers etc.

the only thing we paid for was the food, wine and bar extension.

My sister and her husband arranged this last year. We had a private dining-room with our own servers and the free use of a decent-sized room with musicians / PA / instruments / singers supplied by us. We had enough strummers, tinklers and warblers to put many choirs and orchestras to shame - very bad choirs and orchestras admittedly but hey they were ours...

The only sour note was when we ran on past some residents' bed-times, the duty manager approached us to keep the noise down - "Noise" sez I "I'll be dug oura ya, that's me bleedin' sister singing!". We pointed out we had asked for a room for an apres-wedding party and it was itemised on the bill the wedding couple got and fairly politely told him to shag off and count rashers in the kitchen or whatever duty managers do at night. To be precise a very large priest in civvies told him and added "Bless you my son" at the end.

There was no bar extension charge as we used the residents' bar and the following day was grand with a good breakfast, included in the B&B rate of €135 per room, and a very decent lunch, paid separately, for some of the late risers.

admiralofthefleet

irishbird wrote: »

we agreed to pay it, as our venue are charging for nothing else.

how much is it in dublin? we were quoted €400 for arklow. we didnt go with it in the end but the hotel manager said we would be looked after, in his own words 'we'll push last orders on a bit'

clint_silver

admiralofthefleet wrote: »

how much is it in dublin? we were quoted €400 for arklow. we didnt go with it in the end but the hotel manager said we would be looked after, in his own words 'we'll push last orders on a bit'

its the same everywhere. some hotels will charge up to 500e for it as they, in their own words "have to pay a solicitor to do it". But I think this is taking the piss.

Ive played at weddings when very very few people go to the bar after 12-12:30 and its nights like when I cant see how hotels make any money at the bar. it does happen. I dont think its fair to say "ah ye made enough money off us during the day, ye cover the 400e". you could use the same argument for anything the hotel is doing, as in "as ye made enough money off us, give everyone free steak sandwiches at 4am". depending on how much profit is in it for the hotel theyll probably waive it anyway, whether they pay it or not shouldnt bother the customer at this stage.

I know several country hotels that use the same main bar as the ressie bar so as most people stay at hotels theoretically as soon as the bar closes it could turn into the ressie bar. Ive rarely seen a bar close at 12:30 at a wedding.

That hotel in north dublin took the aboslute piss though when they were caught for charging the fee to customers but not actually purchasing the licence. info available at a google near you.

Sleepy

Only hotel I've ever seen do a strict close down of the bar at 12:30 was at the Grand in Malahide.

Gamb!t

Looking for advice for reception drinks for a wedding say of 150 people.
whats the normal process ?
Have drinks (champagne) or some sort of punch for everyone(150) or split it in half as most guest head straight to the bar ?

clint_silver

Gamb!t wrote: »

Looking for advice for reception drinks for a wedding say of 150 people.
whats the normal process ?
Have drinks (champagne) or some sort of punch for everyone(150) or split it in half as most guest head straight to the bar ?

Depending on how long it is after arrival to dinner call guests can get very thirsty and very hungry. So if you went halves(Id go 2/3s) on the numbers you might run out of reception drink if you're not called for ages. Dinner call is usually around 5:30, 4 would be an ok time to get to hotel, 2pm would very early. Judge it from that.