hotel blocking

one of the things on my to-do list was to call hotels to check into blocking off rooms. i called the holiday inn first. although the woman i spoke with was very pleasant, she told me that they require that 80% of the rooms you block off be booked. what happens if they aren't? we have to pay for them. i'm not so keen on that bit, especially since there is more than one place that a guest can stay & i'm not sure of everyone's preference.

so, we've decided to forgo the hotel blocks, deciding that everyone is capable of making their own reservations. i did look up the current room rates for each of the closest places to stay (days inn, embassy, and the cabins), so that will help narrow everyone's search. in doing so, i also found out that the "special group rate" offered by holiday inn saved everyone a whopping $5 a night...definitely not a worthwhile savings.