Day Passes for guests... to pay or not to pay

[AsianBride2B]

"phew" reading everyone's opinions about paying for day passes has made me feel better about our decision not to pay for people either that choose not to stay at our resort - we were starting to feel "cheap" but this has strengthened our thoughts about this decision - however, the excpetions are those who may be coming in internationally that would be paying more for flight.

[Rhonda]

My cousin is coming with his wife and baby and they have to stay at another resort because mine is Adults Only. They are the only ones staying elsewhere.

I can't decide if I should pay for their pass... $$ is not really an issue with them, so, I don't need to, but, I think it would be a nice gesture..thoughts?

[Mel&B]

We aren't paying for guest passes. We've clearly posted the cost for guest passes, and our guests that have chosen to stay elsewhere have weighed the costs of guest passes into their decision. It was helpful to post the costs because it gave everyone a clear idea of the cost for staying with us vs. elsewhere.

 

Guests that are not staying with us do not need to buy a guest pass for the ceremony and reception. It's not required at our hotel.

[Sparkles8300]

I am having the same issue. One of my best friends and her husband own a timeshare for the Westin (which owns Sandals) so they are planning on staying at the Sandals. She is in my wedding as a bridesmaid, so they will need to be at both the rehearsal and the wedding. That would cost us $75/pp two nights in a row. This seems like a lot of $ just because they chose to use their timeshare instead of sell it and come stay with us at the Iberostar. I made the mistake of not posting the fact that there is a day pass when I made my website. I don't know how to handle this? I don't want to seem cheap but I also don't want to pay the $75/pp two nights in a row...could I tell them I will pay for the wedding and they can pay for the rehearsal or what do I do? I am so confused!

[JHarwood2Be]

We are in a similar situation, although our resort is sold out. So we have 2 guests staying off site. We are thinking of covering the cost of the passes for the wedding and then they can pay for the passes if they want to come to the rehearsal dinner.

[lolkitteh]

In the case of someone in the wedding party, I think it's a nice gesture to pay for the passes for both rehearsal dinner and wedding. People in your wedding party probably did a lot for you. Depending the on the situation, they probably threw showers, bachelor/bacherlorette parties, paid for dresses, shoes, and jewelry, are taking care of wedding-related details, helped shop for their own and your dresses, made favors, addressed invitations, etc., etc. Further, unlike a regular guest, a bridesmaid is obligated to attend both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding ceremony, and are probably helping out with both - so having to be there for both is not optional. However, paying the day pass for one bridesmaid and not the other attendants may seem unfair to the rest of the party - so it's really situational. Nevertheless, I'd weigh on the side of offering to pay for both passes, unless you really think it won't be a big deal to her if you don't.

 

In the case of a sold-out resort, I also think it a nice gesture to pay for the passes, unless the reason they couldn't get into the resort was because they missed the booking deadline, AND it was well-known upfront that there would be a fee for the pass if they did not stay on the resort. In this case, the 2 guests really couldn't help but stay offsite and probably did want to stay at the resort. Having to now pay to attend the wedding wasn't really their fault or choice, and would add insult to injury.