Events that want revenue from attendee travel usually start by asking a hotel for a block. It is the traditional answer, but it is not the only one, and for many events it is not the one that earns most.
What a block actually pays
A block earns through a rebate or commission on rooms picked up. It only pays on attendees who book inside the block, at that hotel, by the cutoff date. Everyone who books a rental, a cheaper hotel down the road or after the cutoff earns the event nothing. If pickup falls short, the attrition clause can turn the block into a cost.
What an open page pays
An open lodging page earns a share of every completed stay booked through it, at any hotel or rental near the venue, right up to the event. There is no contract to sign, no minimum to fill and nothing owed if fewer people travel. With Bookend the event earns around 6–8% of every booking made through its page.
Comparing them honestly
- Count how many attendees travel, not how many book the block. Pickup is often a minority of travellers.
- Price the downside: what would the event owe at 60% pickup?
- Look at where attendees actually book. If many choose rentals, a hotel block cannot earn on them.
- Check timing. Many attendees book in the final month, after a typical block cutoff.
You do not have to pick one
Plenty of events keep a small, conservative block for teams, officials or VIPs who need rooms next to the venue, and put an open lodging page in front of everyone else. The block covers the rooms you must guarantee; the page earns on the rest.