Understanding Room Blocks and Comps

You picked the perfect location, and your wedding date is available. The next step is to request that the resort hold rooms for your guests. This is called a room block. When you have a room block the resort will hold rooms for your group at an agreed upon rate. A room block and a group rate protects your group from price increases. It also allows your group to make their own reservations at any time until the cutoff date – usually about 2 months prior to the wedding. With a room block, you agree to purchase these rooms, even if you are unable to fill them. For reserving a set number of rooms, and guaranteeing them through a room block, you receive comps based on your and your guests’ stay.

Traditional Comps

Comped rooms are “complimentary” or free of charge. When you agree to reserve a room block, the resort will offer you comps based on how many rooms your group books. This is often listed as a fraction called a comp ratio, such as 1/6. This means for every 6th paid room; your 7th room is complimentary. Of course, there is a catch – you only earn comps on days where you meet the comp ratio on that day. Comps are calculated each night on rooms with double occupancy. Typically, single occupancy rooms are not counted for traditional comps.

Lisa and Greg are excited about their wedding week. Like most couples, some of their guests will arrive a few days early and some will only be joining them for the weekend. Let’s look at how traditional comps work and then how they compare to UnComp-licated™ Comps.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Rooms	5	5	13	15	15	15	12
Comp Earned	0	0	1	2	2	2	1
Comp Value	$0	$0	$400	$800	$800	$800	$400

*Notice that on Wednesday that although the couple earned two comps, the couple was unable to use one comp as they needed a 14th room to utilize the 2nd complimentary room. Since the comp does not roll-over to the next day, the comp is lost.

We’ve taken a different approach to comps. With HotelMaven, you earn a fixed dollar amount of comps on every night your guests stay. You can use your UnComp-licated™ Comps for a rooms, upgrades, excursions, and more. Using the example above, let’s see how the they compare.