If you're a housing company that oversees Stay to Play youth sports tournaments, you already know the drill. Teams book outside the block, hotels miss pickup goals, and you’re the one left sorting it out. Compliance drops. Revenue slips. And the blame circles back to your team, forcibly handing exemptions out like candy.

Many housing companies deal with this every season, not because they aren’t enforcing a Stay to Play policy, but because the policy itself is unclear, inconsistent, or shared too late. In fact, some tournaments lose ~10–20% of expected room nights due to compliance issues like blockflation, where teams claim double or triple the hotel rooms they need, forcing organizers to contract more rooms than they need and grant more exceptions for those teams that can’t find rooms to block.

This guide walks through how to write a Stay to Play tournament policy that actually works; one that’s easy to understand, consistently enforced, and built to protect your blocks before problems start.

What Goes Into a Successful Stay to Play Policy

If you're building a Stay to Play policy from scratch (or fixing one that hasn’t worked), start with these four building blocks. A strong policy isn’t just clear on paper. It works in real life, under pressure, across teams, hotels, and vendors.

1. Core policy elements that set expectations

This is the foundation of your Stay to Play policy. These elements ensure that your policy is enforceable, transparent, and built to withstand pressure. When you build clarity into the policy, you spend less time fielding questions later. 

Here’s what you should consider including:

• • Define exactly who the policy applies to, like teams traveling more than 75 miles.
  • Set a booking window with a clear start and cut-off date.
  • Include minimum night requirements or room night targets if applicable.
  • Use clear, coach-friendly language. No legal jargon, no ambiguity.
  • List the exception types up front and make the process easy to follow.
  • Explain what happens if a team doesn’t comply. Schedule impact? Disqualification? Make it known early.

2. Communicating the Stay to Play policy to teams

Even the best policy fails if no one knows it exists. Communication is where compliance begins (and often unravels). Teams follow the rules when they’re easy to access and even more straightforward to understand.

• • Feature the policy early: in registration forms, emails, and confirmation pages.
  • Create simple support materials like one-pagers, explainer videos, or FAQs.
  • Highlight team benefits that matter, like better pricing, booking support, and fair play.
  • Schedule reminders around deadlines to keep the policy at the forefront of your mind.

3. Aligning your policy with hotel and vendor partners

Your policy needs to work across every partner touchpoint, not just internally. Consistent enforcement only happens when everyone is working from the same policy.

• • Confirm that your hotel contracts reflect the same rules, including cut-off dates and minimums.
  • Check that your vendor platform can enforce your Stay to Play requirements.
  • Connect registration and booking data to track which teams comply.
  • Run pre-event audits to catch any disconnects before bookings go live.

4. Using technology to support compliance automatically

Manual processes work for smaller events, but they slow everything down once things scale. The right software takes care of the heavy lifting and lets your team focus on service. The right technology turns your policy into something teams can follow without friction or guesswork.

• • Choose platforms that can block non-compliant hotels and flag missing data.
  • Monitor pickup and exception requests in real time without relying on spreadsheets.
  • Automate requests, reminders, and approvals so nothing falls through the cracks.
  • Maintain a clean audit trail to resolve disputes between teams or vendors quickly.

5. Incentivizing teams to follow the rules

Sometimes, a little motivation goes a long way. Rewarding teams for early or full compliance creates positive reinforcement (and often faster bookings).

• • Offer discounted registration fees for teams that book within the first two weeks.
  • Provide free or discounted event merchandise to teams that meet compliance targets.
  • Give schedule priority or preferred game times to compliant teams.
  • Recognize compliant teams publicly on event websites or during opening ceremonies.

Common Stay to Play Compliance Pitfalls (and How to Fix Them)

Even if your Stay to Play tournament policy looks solid on paper, how it's communicated and enforced makes or breaks it. Many housing companies run into the same avoidable issues—confusing language, inconsistent enforcement, and late rollouts. Below, we’ve outlined the most common compliance pitfalls and how to solve them.

1. Vague or legal-sounding policy language

If your policy reads like a contract, expect teams to tune out or look for loopholes.

How to fix it:

• • Use plain, coach-friendly language with no jargon or ambiguity.
  • Clearly define terms like radius, overflow, and exemption.
  • Structure it simply: who it applies to, how to comply, and what happens if they don’t.

2. Sharing the policy too late

Even the best policy won’t work if teams don’t see it in time. Many issues start when the policy is buried in registration or shared after teams start booking.

How to fix it:

• • Feature the policy early throughout registration forms, confirmation emails, and housing pages.
  • Include reminders around key booking deadlines.
  • Send proactive communication before blocks open to prevent early non-compliant bookings.

3. No clear exception process

If teams don’t understand how exceptions work (or if they think they’re being handled inconsistently), trust breaks down quickly.

How to fix it:

• • Document what qualifies for an exception, like local radius, loyalty points, overflow hotels, etc.
  • Use a standardized, trackable request process with deadlines.
  • Be transparent and consistent to avoid the perception of favoritism.

4. Inconsistent enforcement across teams

Once a policy is in place, it must be applied consistently. If one team gets an exception and another doesn’t (or if enforcement changes mid-stream) the policy loses credibility.

How to fix it:

• • Apply your published rules fairly across all divisions and team types within the same event.
  • Avoid last-minute decisions that contradict previously shared guidance.
  • Use software to track compliance automatically and eliminate subjectivity.

Fair enforcement doesn’t mean one rule for every event, it means following through on the rules you’ve set for that event with no special treatment.

5. One-size-fits-all policies across different events

Not every team travels the same way and not every event needs the same policy. Applying rigid, cookie-cutter rules across different tournaments can hurt compliance and increase exception requests.

How to fix it:

• • Tailor night minimums or compliance requirements based on team profiles or event type.
  • Offer flexible policy models for different age groups, locations, or competitive levels.
  • Consider travel distance, team budgets, and past behavior when setting your Stay to Play rules.

Be flexible when designing the policy for each event, but consistent when enforcing it for everyone attending that event.

6. Policy misalignment with hotel or vendor agreements

Your policy only works if your hotels and booking platform reinforce it. If partners send mixed signals, teams get confused, and compliance drops.

How to fix it:

• • Make sure your policy reflects the hotel’s terms like cut-off dates and night minimums.
  • Embed your policy directly into your vendor’s platform, so it can’t be bypassed or changed by hotels or team managers.
  • Audit messaging across all partners before bookings go live.

7. Ignoring blockflation in inventory planning

Popular hotels fill up fast. If you don’t plan for early demand, teams will book outside the block, and your team will scramble to clean up the mess.

Blockflation occurs when teams reserve more rooms than they actually need, sometimes double or triple, just to “hold their options.” This inflates demand on paper, ties up your inventory, and leaves other teams unable to book within the block. When those teams go outside the system, your pickup suffers, exception requests spike, and hotel partners miss their numbers.

How to fix it:

• • Monitor team blocks closely and adjust inventory if you see signs of over-blocking.
  • Set limits on how many rooms or nights can be held initially.
  • Use your housing platform to forecast real demand and manage overflow smarter.
  • Release unused rooms back into inventory before your cut-off dates to avoid waste.

What to Include in Your Stay to Play Policy Template or Addendum

A policy that lives only in your head, or is scattered across emails and hotel contracts,won’t hold up under pressure. Documenting your Stay to Play requirements clearly in a centralized template or addendum gives your team, your partners, and your attendees a shared foundation.

Here’s what every policy should include:

1. Stay to Play booking instructions, deadlines, and links

Make it easy for teams to understand how and where to book. The more friction you remove, the more likely teams are to follow through.

• • Include direct booking links, ideally tied to registration.
  • Clearly state the deadline to be considered compliant.
  • Use plain language to explain next steps. No legal jargon, no guessing.

2. Penalty structure in your Stay to Play tournament policy

Be upfront about what happens when teams don’t follow the rules because teams are more likely to respect policies they understand.

• • Define specific consequences: loss of schedule priority, disqualification, or exclusion from future events.
  • Align the penalties with the scale of the event. Keep it firm but fair.
  • Communicate penalties early so there are no surprises later.

3. Exception criteria and request process for team travel

If your event allows exceptions, the process needs to be documented and fair. A transparent exception process saves time, builds trust, and avoids conflict.

• • List acceptable exception types like loyalty points, local teams, or approved overflow hotels.
  • Include a step-by-step process for submitting a request and getting approval.
  • Assign clear deadlines so your team isn’t managing last-minute issues.

4. Event housing management contact details for questions or disputes

Don’t leave teams guessing about who to contact when issues come up. When teams know who to talk to, problems get resolved faster and more professionally.

• • Provide a single point of contact, ideally a name and email, for housing questions.
  • Make sure your staff is aligned on how to handle common policy questions.
  • Include this info in the same location as booking links and deadlines.

Sample Stay to Play Policy 

Once you've mapped out your rules, the next step is putting them into a format your teams and partners can actually use. 

Here’s a customizable example of how to document your Stay to Play policy. This format helps you clearly communicate expectations to teams. And gives your staff and hotel partners a consistent reference point.

Stay to Play Policy for [Event Name]

All teams participating in [Event Name] are required to book their hotel accommodations through our official housing partner. This policy helps us secure the best possible rates, meet venue requirements, and ensure a smooth experience for everyone attending.

Who it applies to: Teams located more than 75 miles from [City or Venue] 

Requirements: Book at least [X] room nights through the official hotel booking link provided.

Booking deadline: All reservations must be completed by [Date] to be considered compliant. 

How to book: Use the official booking link provided at registration or visit [booking URL] for more information.

Exceptions: We allow exceptions in the following cases, provided they are submitted and approved before [Exception Deadline]:

• • • • Teams using hotel loyalty points
      • Local teams within a 75-mile radius
      • Special circumstances approved in writing by [Contact Name / Email]

Consequences of non-compliance: Teams that do not comply with the Stay to Play policy may be removed from the tournament. Enforcement varies by event, but the policy is mandatory and exceptions are limited.

Need help? For booking questions or exception requests, contact our housing team at [Housing Email].

Conclusion: Your Stay to Play Policy Is the First Line of Defense

A strong Stay to Play tournament policy gives you control over inventory, protects revenue, and sets expectations for teams and hotel partners. When it’s clearly documented, aligned across platforms, and supported by the right tools, it becomes a dependable part of your housing strategy.

Compliance improves. Manual tracking disappears. The process moves faster.

With EventPipe’s Teams Management software, you can enforce Stay to Play compliance at the point of booking. It flags non-compliant reservations, automates exception handling, and reduces the pressure on your team.

Schedule a demo to see how EventPipe helps you lock in compliance without chasing down teams or spreadsheets.