When I reserve rooms for an entire team, how does that work if I have only my own credit card number at the time of booking?

Initially, we'll have to place all the rooms for your team under your name.  Then when you provide a rooming list with individual credit card numbers, we can remove rooms from your block and confirm them to the individual families.  Rooms remaining on your block but unclaimed can't be guaranteed after 31 days before the tournament. 

Should we wait until we are accepted into the tournament to make our hotel reservations?

No, go ahead and make your reservations as soon as you apply to the tournament. If your team isn't accepted after you make your Host Hotel reservations through the Tournament Lodging Office, let us know and we will cancel your reservation. You will be pleased to know that most teams that apply to the Whitewater Cup Tournaments are accepted.

How do we select a hotel in the best location?

All of the hotels listed on this web site are within an acceptable distance of all of the tournament fields, since all of our field sites are within 30 to 35 minutes of one another. You may narrow your choices for lodging by reviewing the list of anticipated field assignments for each age group.  We must emphasize that these field locations are subject to being changed, although that seldom happens. For most tournament participants, it’s far more important to select a hotel with the amenities you prefer, than one that is closest to the fields, especially since our one-day format means that most teams spend all day at their field complex rather than commuting to and from the hotel.

Do I need to give you a credit card when I make the reservation with you, even when it’s a team reservation?

Yes. Though we will need to confirm rooms on each family's credit card, we ask you for your credit card number if you submit a group/team reservation to make sure the reservation is legitimate. Too many teams submit a reservation before the team has decided to attend the tournament, and later forget they are holding rooms. As a result, teams that are really attending the tournament don't have access to those rooms until it's too late to reserve them. To protect the teams that are really attending the tournament, your credit card number is held until either: 1) You confirm the room reservations with individual credit card numbers for each family; OR 2) The unwanted rooms are properly canceled within the specified time frame.

Does that mean my card will be charged if my plans change and I forget to cancel this reservation?

No matter when you make a team reservation, you are given until 31 days before the tournament to cancel. If you fail to do so, then yes, there will be a $10.00 administrative charge put on your credit card for each room you fail to cancel. But if you either confirm the rooms, or cancel 31 days in advance, you don't have to worry about such a charge. This is to help keep the rooms available for the teams that are really coming to the tournament.

I don't know yet the exact number of rooms I need. Can I give you the highest number and drop some if we don't need them?

Better yet, give us the middle number you would need, not the highest or lowest. That way, your final rooming list won't be off by as much. We rarely have a problem increasing a block by a few more rooms or reducing it to a few less rooms.

I called the hotel, and it sounds like their regular (weekend) rate might be the same as, or lower than, the rate we are getting through you. Is that possible?

All of our tournaments occur in cities during "holiday" or "special events" weekends, meaning that there are multiple events going on, and the demand for rooms is great enough that many of the hotels won’t offer their very lowest rates. So first, make sure the rate they are quoting you is for the dates of the tournament, and not their regular weekend rate for a slower time. Also, some hotels will adjust their publicized rates or raise or lower their rack rate as the weekend approaches, depending on whether they consider themselves "oversold" or "undersold" for a particular date.  And finally, after negotiating the lowest rate possible, at some hotels the tournament itself may add a small sum to the quoted room rate as a fund raiser.  For all of these reasons your rate may be higher or lower than a published hotel rate on the day of the tournament.

Why do some of the hotels have a two-night minimum?

For the same reason as the special event rates, increased demand for rooms causes some (but certainly not all) hotels to choose to accept only two-night bookings. If your team has one or two individuals who absolutely require a single night (in a two-night minimum hotel), call us about that when you know about it for sure, and we will work with the hotel and try to get the two-night minimum waived for a particular guest.

What's the cancellation policy? How does it work?

Full payment is due 31 days in advance, or at the time of booking (if reserving less than 31 days before the tournament). Each hotel maintains its own cancellation and refund policy.  These can be viewed by clicking on the name of the Host Hotel on the tournament lodging list.  In all cases, cancellations made more than 48 hours in advance are made by calling the Tournament Lodging Office at 800-443-8554.  Cancellations made less than 48 hours in advance are made by calling the hotel directly.  (If you call the hotel earlier than this, they might not have your reservation information on file yet, as most rooming lists are submitted to the hotel only a few days in advance of the tournament.)

One person on my team doesn't want to give a credit card out.  Can they send a check?

They may pay with a check, but the due date is the same. Any check or money order should be made payable to "Whitewater Cup Classic" and mailed to 5 Pine Tree Road, Mountain Top, PA 18707. If a family is sending a check or money order, be certain they include a photo copy of their lodging confirmation, including their name, phone number, and the 5-digit reservation number printed just above their name/address.

After we've confirmed our reservations, can we make changes? If so, do we call you?

The best thing to do is to call us at 800-443-8554. If your rooming list has already been forwarded to your Host Hotel, we may be able to make the change for you, or we might have to ask you to contact them directly.

Am I guaranteed my special request (non-smoking, special accessibility, etc.)?

No.  All requests (adjoining rooms, wheel chair accessible rooms, smoking or non-smoking rooms, etc.) are requests only. Host Hotels will make every effort to accommodate your request, but cannot guarantee it. For non-smoking room requests, check at the hotel's front desk to verify whether or not your request can be honored.  (Earlier arrival at the hotel can sometimes be helpful in assuring the room type you prefer.)  Most of our Host Hotels maintain a preponderance of non-smoking rooms, and even those designated as smoking rooms are effectively cleansed.

Do your Host Hotels allow pets?

Some hotels allow pets, though most will require a separate pet fee or security deposit. The pet policy for each Host Hotel, along with other useful information including reservation and cancellation policies, can be seen by clicking on the hotel name on the tournament lodging page for the tournament you've selected.