Buyer Beware: When Booking Your Destination Wedding & Rooms Directly With a Resort

You’re planning your destination wedding in the Caribbean or Mexico and have not yet booked a venue. You searched for “wedding resorts” and found an appealing resort. It’s relatively affordable, has a decent rating on TripAdvisor and looks beautiful in its online photos. You might wonder: Should I just pick up the phone and book with this resort? Direct hotel bookings are standard, right?

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Wrong! I know it might seem easy to… just do it, but as a professional in the industry, I don’t recommend it. There are a lot of things that can go wrong and remember, this is your wedding we’re talking about! You don’t want anything to go wrong! Here are some of the reasons,  I recommend avoiding booking your destination wedding directly with the resort.

You Might End Up Spending More With Direct Hotel Bookings

You might think that booking directly with the resort will save you money, but that’s not always the case. Resort managers are aware that it’s a one-time deal with you, so they may try to maximize their profits. Plus, you might be enticed by all of the promotions they put online, but they may not apply to your booking!

On the other hand, a destination wedding specialist or consultant will have solid connections with resort management. Plus they can often score special rates, discounts, and package deals that aren’t available to individual customers. They can help you compare prices across different resorts and make sure you get the best value for your money.

Are There Any Benefits to Direct Hotel Bookings?

There are a couple that you can consider. First, you can get better loyalty points. If you are a rewards member or credit card holder for your favorite brand, booking directly can get you more perks. Second, there may be better cancellation options. I have heard of some brands who (if you book direct) will give you the ability to cancel up to 24 hours before your stay. Finally, they might have access to inventory that others might not.

You Could Get Slammed With Fees

It is so upsetting to see couples get blind-sided with fees based on the group contract which will increase the costs of their destination wedding. Essentially, when rooms are held for a group, there are attrition dates and cancellation penalties. If you don’t pay attention to those and have empty rooms in the group, or if your guests cancel their room when there are cancellation penalties, couples can be stuck holding the bag and have fees they weren’t expecting. 

You are already spending a lot of money, you do not need a significant extra charge because you weren’t aware of the fees! This is why most destination wedding couples will learn from the mistake of others and choose to work with a travel professional.

You’ll Be Left with Stressful Tasks

Planning a wedding is overwhelming, especially when it’s a destination wedding. While the resort will take care of the wedding-specific infrastructure, there are dozens of other aspects to manage. You already have a full-time job, you don’t need to add travel planner to it! And now, you will be responsible for all the details when going with the direct hotel bookings route. You are the one that has to make sure Uncle Joe has his passport.

Bringing a destination wedding specialist on board can significantly ease your planning stress. They manage the logistics and coordination. More importantly, they are the link between you and the resort.

You’ll Miss Out on Personalized Service & Experience

Keep in mind that the resort might be handling your wedding along with a dozen other unrelated events at the same time. The best they can offer is a dedicated manager, but that doesn’t really qualify as a personalized service.

A destination wedding consultant can work closely with you to understand your dream wedding ideas and preferences. They’ll customize the event to reflect your style, theme, and budget, ensuring that all the details are taken care of. They can also connect you with top-notch photographers, decorators, and entertainers to make your wedding experience truly memorable.

You’ll Be Busy Troubleshooting on Your Big Day

No matter how meticulously you plan your event, problems will happen at critical moments. And when they do, the resort may leave you to handle them on your own.

Having a dedicated wedding planner or travel agent by your side can be a real lifesaver in such situations. They’ve dealt with similar cases before and know how to quickly troubleshoot problems, ensuring that your wedding day runs smoothly.

Communication Issues May Cause Problems

The customer service at some exotic and remote destination wedding resorts isn’t always as speedy as we’d like. If you need to communicate changes or get information to help with your planning, reaching the right people quickly can be a challenge. In our experience it is THE hardest part of planning a destination wedding.

Booking directly with these resorts may lead to communication difficulties. They will not respond to your emails promptly. And good luck getting someone on the phone.

On the other hand, a reputable event management service or wedding planner knows how to connect with the right person quickly and relay your messages effectively. They might even have local contacts to make sure everything is set up perfectly for your big day.

Direct Hotel Bookings Are Not Recommended

If you’re planning a destination wedding or honeymoon, I strongly urge you to think twice before you book directly with the resort. Instead, reach out to a travel professional or destination wedding & honeymoon consultant. Let them help you design your perfect destination wedding or honeymoon. They offer more personalized service than the resort. Plus they can negotiate deals, find you exclusive deals, and secure discounts for you too.

If you are in the middle of trying to figure out your destination wedding, or just feel like you need a helping hand. Hit the easy button, and schedule a free 30-minute consultation with me today.  I will do my best to help you make your dream wedding a reality.