Room block

How does a room block work?

A room block is the hotel's side of a group contract: rooms per night at an agreed rate. Filling it is the agency's side. Rooms that attendees book count as pickup, and the gap between block and pickup is where you lose margin.

The block holds until the cutoff date, which Engine describes as "the deadline in the contract when unclaimed rooms are released back to the hotel". After that, unused rooms go back on general sale. One contract sample on Law Insider accepts late requests "on a space available basis, at the higher of the contract rate or rate available at that time". A late registrant can pay more than the group rate, or find no room.

What does it cost when the block is wrong?

A block that is too big costs you attrition. Crewfare's illustrative clause has the organiser owing part of the lost room revenue when pickup falls below 80% of the block. Some contracts allow a 10% to 20% cushion before that applies. A block that is too small leaves late additions paying the going rate. Another Law Insider sample allows a $5 fee per rooming list change in the final two weeks and bills no-shows for their entire stay.

What should you watch?

Track pickup against the block every week, including after cutoff. In our view, pickup figures mean little if the rooming list behind them is stale, so managing rooming list changes is part of managing the block. If pickup is trending low, take Engine's advice: "talk to the hotel before cutoff, not after." Hotels often allow name changes, though you may have to route them through the group sales team by a set deadline.