Updated August 4, 2023
The good news is with 20-plus hotels with more than 2,000 rooms, we dare say the Las Vegas Strip can handle a party of 50 with ease. The bad news is that a party of 50 is barely a blip on the group-sales radar screen, which is used to parties of 500 or even 5,000.
Thus, though you might receive some special handling through group sales, don’t expect any deals from the small-groups reservation or group-sales department or the group-reservation manager.
What’s known as a "block" discount rate is different in Las Vegas than in hotels elsewhere. Indeed, most blocked rooms reserved through group sales cost more than the rack rate, since they’re usually occupied by business travelers attending conventions. The hotels would rather rent rooms to gamblers or leisure travelers and they prefer not to book large blocks too far in advance, lest a prizefight or big event is announced afterwards on which they can capitalize. (Also, they assume conventioneers are on expense accounts.)
Nevertheless, here are a few ideas.
First, pick a hotel. Do you want to be closer to the airport or right in the middle of the action? Do you want a three-star, four-star, or five-star hotel? Would you prefer a relatively smaller property (say, 2,000 rooms) over a 5,000- to 7,000-room behemoth? Will there be children along who’ll need entertainment on the property? Will your guests want celebrity chefs, a shopping mall, spa services, thrill rides? Is there a particular show you’ll all want to see? Asking and answering questions such as these, you can easily narrow down the field.
Once you do, call the main switchboards and ask to be connected to the group-sales department. Depending on your timing (is a big convention or major event occurring on your dates?), you can generally reserve a block of rooms, as many as you want (and you might overestimate a little, since you’re usually not at risk) at a quoted rate per room. The term for this is "courtesy hold," which means you won’t be responsible for the rooms you reserve that don’t get sold.
The group rate might not (probably won’t) be as good as what guests can get on their own online, especially if they have a coupon code. However, if the hotel sells out in the meantime, it guarantees them a room. Or if the guests wait until the last minute to reserve and the rate has gone up, they can take the better price.
In general, unless you’re paying for all the rooms yourself (we’re assuming you’re not), you probably won’t have to sign a contract committing to a certain occupancy, nor will you have to leave a deposit. The hotel will simply hold the rooms under your name, or the group name, or a group booking code, with a deadline by which the blocked rooms need to be reserved by your guests, usually 30 days before the check-in date.
On a courtesy hold, the unsold rooms in your block will be released when the deadline passes, then sold at the current market price.
Once you’ve blocked the rooms, you can notify your guests that they can call for reservations or book online, as they would under normal circumstances. They can pay the block rate, or the rack rate if it’s lower, or use a coupon for a discount. If they reserve at the block rate and the prices drop below that, they can call back and get the rate adjusted. You might monitor the room rates yourself and notify your guests in the event prices do drop.
If, however, you have a special request –- for example, a hospitality suite where the guests can gather or a banquet room for your reunion -- you might have to sign a contract for the package deal and put money on deposit. In this case, you’ll have to be much more careful about how many rooms you block. If you don’t fill as many as you expect to, you could lose the deposit. Of course, if you do fill them all, you’ll get back your deposit or it can be applied to the cost of your own room.
Sometimes when you sign a contract and make a financial commitment, you’ll get better pricing on your block, though it probably won’t be as good as online with a code. Also, you won’t be able to renegotiate a lower room rate if the price drops afterwards. Be sure to inquire about these issues in advance if they apply to you.
Usually, a hotel won’t guarantee that the blocked rooms will all be on the same floor, but you can request it and hope for the best.
Other questions to ask include:
Will reservations be accepted after the cutoff date at the block rate as long as rooms are available?
How will you be notified about which guests have reserved rooms?
Is there a dedicated point person you can ask for or will you be dealing with whomever answers the phone every time you call?
Is there an online code for your guests to receive the group rate or do they have to call the hotel directly?
Is there a penalty if you cancel the whole room block?
Is there a deadline for adding more rooms to the block?
Can guests extend their stay at the discounted rate?
If all this seems a little daunting, there’s another way to go: You can contact a hotel-planning company to book your block for you. One such service is HotelPlanner.com.
You fill out the form on the home page -- number of rooms, the star rating of the desired hotel, the room types, the maximum you’ll pay, if you need meeting space (and the particulars of the space and services needed), your dates and contact information, and additional requests or comments.
When you submit your request, within a minute, a list is posted on the site with offers from various hotels for the reservation request. Our first list came back with 30 hotels: prices, description of amenities, policies, and contact information. Our second list, which was much more specific in our reservation-request comments, consisted of 14 hotels that more closely matched our requirements. If nothing else, this website will give you a running start in your search.