The Whys and Wherefores of Hotel Welcome Bags

The Whys and Wherefores of Hotel Welcome Bags also known as OOT Bags, Out of Town Bags, Wedding Welcome Bags and Hospitality Bags.

Welcoming your guests to their hotel is a gracious act. They arrived tired, probably hungry, and most likely did not get a hug from the front desk clerk. Since you can not physically greet every guest when they arrive, hospitality bags are your way of showing your guests how much you appreciate the effort they made to come to your wedding.

Who receives the hospitality bags
A hotel welcome bag is usually for one couple or one person. If two groomsmen are sharing a hotel room, they should each receive their own welcome bag.

How do you stuff the hospitality bags
Most of the hotel welcome bags on are site are stuffed with 3 or 4 pieces of tissue. That’s because our welcome bags are empty! We recommend actually using 2 pieces of tissue paper in each hospitality bag. One piece is OK but could look a bit skimpy.

You could assemble your hospitality bag in one of the following ways
Put one piece of tissue paper in first. Add your goodies. Top off the second piece of tissue paper
Put both of the tissue papers in first. Do not lay the tissue paper corner to corner but rather skew them to give the edges a ‘handkerchief’ look

What to put in your hospitality bags
The most common thing that is put in the wedding out-of-town bags (OOT bags) is bottled water. However, regional issues should play a big part in the decision process. If your wedding is in Napa Valley, you might want to forgo the water and put in a small bottle of local wine. If your wedding is in Texas, you might want to put in hot sauce. Visit your local Farmers’ Market, if available, for ideas about regional products.

Do you have a favorite cookie, candy or muffin recipe? Put a fresh sample in the hotel welcome bag along with the recipe.

From Costco or similar, get small travel size packages of Tylenol, gum, or mints.

Fresh fruit would be much appreciated or other similar snacks not found in a mini bar.

An inexpensive or even free way to fill up your hospitality bag is to visit the local visitors’ center. They will give you armloads of free coupons and brochures.

An agenda, itinerary or map of the weekend events. You might have all that on your website but often guests forget to bring it with them and don’t have web access.

Download free soduko puzzles and put them in the hospitality bags with a new sharp pencil. It’s a fun way to unwind in their hotel rooms before turning off the light.