The short answer.
- Most wedding blocks are courtesy blocks. The hotel holds rooms at a set rate and guests pay for their own. The couple pays no fee.
- For 20 rooms over two nights in the peak wedding month, guests pay $5,300 in Virginia Beach and $19,164 in Newport.
- A cheaper month with the same weather cuts that block by $2,657 on average, and by $7,420 in Napa Valley.
What 20 rooms for two nights cost, by destination.
Peak wedding month is the month with the most wedding-venue searches. Cheaper month is the lowest-priced month within two months of the peak that clears the destination's weather bar. Rates are citywide averages from Engine searches, not quotes.
| Destination | Peak wedding month | Peak, 20 rooms | Cheaper month | Cheaper, 20 rooms | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NewportJuly vs. May | July $479/night | $19,164 | May $314/night | $12,560 | $6,604 |
| Key WestMarch vs. May | March $460/night | $18,385 | May $341/night | $13,640 | $4,745 |
| Napa ValleyOctober vs. December | October $427/night | $17,100 | December $242/night | $9,680 | $7,420 |
| New York CityMay vs. July | May $380/night | $15,215 | July $270/night | $10,800 | $4,415 |
| San DiegoJuly vs. September | July $370/night | $14,812 | September $252/night | $10,093 | $4,719 |
| Santa BarbaraAugust vs. October | August $353/night | $14,102 | October $314/night | $12,570 | $1,532 |
| NashvilleOctober vs. November | October $338/night | $13,504 | November $267/night | $10,667 | $2,837 |
| ChicagoSeptember vs. August | September $308/night | $12,330 | August $277/night | $11,076 | $1,254 |
| BoulderSeptember vs. July | September $307/night | $12,291 | July $237/night | $9,480 | $2,811 |
| CharlestonOctober vs. December | October $282/night | $11,296 | December $179/night | $7,160 | $4,136 |
| AustinApril vs. May | April $254/night | $10,170 | May $233/night | $9,324 | $846 |
| MiamiApril vs. May | April $251/night | $10,048 | May $226/night | $9,030 | $1,018 |
| New OrleansOctober vs. December | October $246/night | $9,824 | December $155/night | $6,209 | $3,615 |
| HawaiiJune vs. May | June $215/night | $8,600 | May $188/night | $7,540 | $1,060 |
| SavannahOctober vs. December | October $198/night | $7,924 | December $147/night | $5,878 | $2,046 |
| TemeculaMay vs. April | May $189/night | $7,548 | April $162/night | $6,483 | $1,065 |
| Las VegasOctober vs. November | October $180/night | $7,195 | November $159/night | $6,356 | $840 |
| St. AugustineApril vs. February | April $171/night | $6,840 | February $156/night | $6,260 | $580 |
| AshevilleMay vs. April | May $157/night | $6,280 | April $143/night | $5,728 | $552 |
| Virginia BeachOctober vs. November | October $133/night | $5,300 | November $107/night | $4,260 | $1,040 |
Twelve destinations clear $10,000 for a peak-month block. Three stay under $7,000: St. Augustine, Asheville, Virginia Beach. Month-by-month rates for every destination are in Same Wedding, Big Discount.
The same block, by month.
Twenty rooms for two nights averages $7,345 across the 20 destinations in January and $10,482 in October.
October is one of the cheapest months in Hawaii, Miami and Temecula, and one of the priciest in New York, Napa and Nashville. Check your destination's page, linked in the table above.
How to estimate your block.
- Count the rooms. Start with one room for every two out-of-town guests.
- Count the nights. Most guests stay two, destination weddings often three.
- Multiply by your city's rate for your month. Each destination page above lists all 12 months, and the full study shows the peak and the cheaper month.
- Ask the hotel for a block rate. It is normally below that figure.
Common questions.
How much does it cost to block hotel rooms for a wedding?
A courtesy block usually costs nothing up front. The hotel holds rooms at a set rate and guests pay for their own. For 20 rooms over two nights in the peak wedding month, that runs from $5,300 in Virginia Beach to $19,164 in Newport at average citywide rates. A contracted block trades a lower rate for a commitment to fill part of it; read the attrition clause first.
Is a hotel block worth it for a wedding?
For most weddings with out-of-town guests, yes. Guests stay near the venue and usually pay less than they would booking alone. A courtesy block costs the couple nothing.
How many hotel rooms should you block for a wedding?
Start with one room for every two out-of-town guests, then adjust for families sharing rooms and guests staying elsewhere. Hotels usually let you add rooms if the block fills. Engine's guide to how many rooms to block has the math.
Which month is cheapest for wedding hotel blocks?
January is the cheapest month on average at $184 a night; October is the most expensive at $262. In most destinations a month one to three months from the wedding peak keeps the weather and cuts the block by 20% to 40%.
How we did this.
RatesThe average nightly rate hotels in each destination showed in Engine searches that month. It is the going rate for the city, not a wedding-specific rate and not a negotiated block rate.
The block20 rooms for two nights, 40 room-nights, at the month's average rate. A one-night block halves each total.
Peak wedding monthThe month with the most wedding-venue searches on Engine, for weddings dated in 2026.
The cheaper monthThe cheapest month within two months of the peak that scores at least 83% of the destination's best weather month. Weather is a 0 to 100 score from temperature, humidity and storm or fire season. Hurricane-belt destinations never use June through November.