Blackout Dates

Blackout dates are nights on which a hotel will not honor your negotiated group rate or take new reservations into your block. Hotels set them where they expect demand to be high enough to sell those rooms at a premium. Blackout dates are written into the contract and often fall around holidays, citywide conventions, or peak local events that overlap your program. For a coordinator, they matter most at the edges of a stay: a guest who wants to arrive a day early or leave a day late may find that night blacked out and priced at the hotel's public rate instead of the group rate. Confirm blackout dates before promising attendees flexible arrival and departure, and check whether they fall on your shoulder nights.