• Picnic Presentation, QR Codes and Easy Eats: How Hotel Room Service Has Evolved   

Excerpt from CoStar

Food-and-beverage operators have had to rethink menus and delivery processes and make changes during the pandemic that are still mostly in place.

At some hotels, room service is drastically different than it was three years ago, and managers generally agree the changes have been for the better.

Much of the evolution of in-room dining during the pandemic has focused on guest safety and convenience, as well as cost.

John Beck, general manager of the Crowne Plaza HY36 in New York, said the landscape of room service has completely changed. The ease of ordering food on apps such as DoorDash and UberEats means hotel room service is now competing more with other local restaurants.

“You can get any food you want delivered to the hotel, delivered to any hotel, whether from the best restaurant in the city or a nice dive spot,” he said, adding that it's forced hotel food-and-beverage directors to think of more casual ways of providing in-room dining.

Room service at Crowne Plaza HY36 did away from the traditional white tablecloth and metal cover presentation in favor of linens that resemble a picnic. Beck said he's seen hotels transition to using fully disposable bamboo plates and silverware.

“The pandemic, that two-year reset we've had, really revolutionized [the presentation],” he said.

Not all hotels are abandoning tradition, however.

Matthew Ross, director of food and beverage at The London West Hollywood at Beverly Hills, said his hotel made the switch to paper products early in the pandemic, but is now providing the white-tablecloth, old-world European room service its guests were more accustomed to.

Veronica Beltran, director of food and beverage at the Grand Bohemian Hotel Asheville, said her hotel has toed the line between tradition and adopting new techniques.

The Grand Bohemian switched to bento boxes to deliver and present more casual menu items instead of paper or plastic to retain some level of elevation while adjusting to the times. However, the traditional experience remains for pricier menu items such as steak to match the expectation of the food, Beltran said.

Guests are given the choice of whether they would like their meal set up in their room or not — a pandemic-era change still in effect, she said.

Food-and-beverage operations have not only had to adjust how they deliver and present in-room dining, but have also had to reinvent menus according to guests’ shifting demands.

Beltran said the Grand Bohemian overhauled its in-room dining offerings, prioritizing more easy-to-eat food, such as burgers and sandwiches as well as grab-and-go items after taking stock of the bestsellers.

“We reinvented the whole menu and reinvented the way that we deliver the menu items,” she said.

Crowne Plaza HY36 went from a more “elevated” menu that included pricey steaks and salmon to a “less stuffy” menu that guests wanted, Beck said.

“It's gone from a high price point, the fanciest thing for the fanciest guests, to let's give people really what they want in the room in the hotel because now we're not the only game in town,” he said.

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