With a little organization and planning, you can get all your guests together in one place, which will make it easier to get everyone together for the shower. And sometimes you can get significant discounts by booking many rooms at once. For larger showers, you can even book a hall in the same hotel so your guests don’t have to go anywhere.
If your baby shower is being held in a hotel, then the cheapest and most practical solution for you is to block off rooms in the same venue. It's standard practice for hotels to give discounts for clients that reserve facilities and rooms. While the minimum reservation is about ten rooms, you still do have to ask for that discount. Some hotels will not do that for you, no matter what.
In any case, you should inform guests of the lodgings addresses and various prices as soon as possible. That's best to do by several means and by phone or text is a common choice, as is by email. Don't just choose one way, it's easy to forget or miss a message.
It's best that they know, too, that they don't have to stay at these hotels but can also choose accommodations of their own. You might want to provide them with websites that give information on what lodgings are available in the area. Choose lodgings that are close to the baby shower venue so that guests don't have too tough a time getting from one place to another.
Although, tell them that they have to let you know if they're going to take advantage of the booking or not. You should inform the hotels of the final reservations at least 4 weeks before the baby shower.
If any friends make an offer to take in any guests, don't refuse! Do make sure, however, that the guests and the hosts know each other, or at least get along! Do take note of the hosts and send along a thank-you card and a small gift if you can.
Many people wonder if they should be paying for the lodgings of their guests. You're not under obligation to do so, as they should take care of their own accommodations. You're just helping them out by getting the best rates and reserving rooms for them.
Find out if any are renting cars while in the area. You can arrange for a taxi service to pick them up, or maybe someone can be assigned to do so. Since lots of guests also take the baby shower as an excuse for a mini-vacation, provide them with an information package about what they can see or do in the town.
And lastly, were there guests that couldn't make it at all? You
could send them a short email or note with a few pictures telling
them that they were missed, or you can bring them there with the
magic of technology. You could commission a videographer or a tech-savvy
friend to create a live internet broadcast so the missing guests
can be there too, virtually.