ROOM SERVICE: Ideas From Outside the Box
by Tim Ellison

Guests have numerous options available to them when it comes to quenching their thirst or satisfying their hunger. They can go to restaurants, lounges, banquet rooms, minibars, and vending machines, or they can call room service. 

Most hotel operators are forced to offer some kind of food and beverage. They can all contribute to cash flow, but the real question is “Are they profit or loss centres?” Banqueting and bars are a no-brainer, but the rest of them? Other outlets such as restaurants, minibars, and room service are more difficult to operate in the black. Some operators choose not to offer these services, but suffer lower star ratings and reduced guest satisfaction.
Room service especially seems to be a bone of contention. There isn’t much risk putting in some vending machines. Reducing service levels all the way down to the complimentary continental breakfast in the lobby can eliminate the need to operate a restaurant. Room service, however, takes some thought, planning, and effort to pull off, otherwise you have to allow pizza and other fast food delivery people to roam the halls and watch lost potential revenue flow out the front door. 

There are lots of reasons not to offer any kind of room service. Most operators have enough trouble getting staff for their regular operations, never mind someone who is starting at 4:00 am for service at 5:30 am. When these staff members no-show there is not always an immediate replacement. The phones will be ringing off the hook when guests’ pre-ordered doorknob breakfasts don’t start turning up at the prescribed time. Some properties don’t have the capital to invest in expensive carts and cloches, mini salt and pepper shakers and the like. Also, how do you price your items? The guests are always comparing the prices in the menus supplied in the guest service directory for your restaurants to the exact same offerings in the room service menu. How do you pass on the additional expenses of in-room service without looking like you are gouging? There is also the inconvenience and expense of updating and replacing all those sections in the guest service directory with every seasonal menu change. The other factor is the theft of all your silver, china, and other expensive accoutrements that get sent to rooms. When the silver teapot is missing, you’ll hear the most innocent reply, “It was on the tray when I put it in the hall.” Now what?

Never mind the hatred and disgust of the housekeeping staff as they are constantly clearing trays from the halls and cleaning food and beverage stains (like red wine on the mattress) in the guests’ rooms. They have a hard enough time dealing with the coffee machine.

There are lots of compelling reasons to offer room service though, not the least of which is the potential revenue mentioned earlier. In today’s competitive environment, hoteliers need every advantage to gain the upper hand over the competition and keep marketshare. The increased star ratings you will receive as you increase the levels of in-room service are a start. You can also relieve pressure on your outlets (especially at breakfast) by allowing guests to dine in. They can help to streamline production and increase efficiencies through pre-ordering via doorknob menus or by the courtesy call from F&B the night before asking if they would like anything delivered to the room first thing in the morning. A pot of premium coffee with fresh cream might be preferable to some guests rather than brewing coffee in the bathroom. 

Many guests are now demanding room service. “We’re finding that baby boomers are spending more time in their rooms when they travel, just relaxing, and younger generations are spending more time in their rooms working,” says Bjorn Hanson, a principal in the Hospitality and Leisure Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. “As a result, there is a higher level of demand for room service, and hotels are forced to improve it.”

In-room service demands have now transcended simply food and beverage. As the cocooning trend extends to the hotel experience and business travellers are working later and later due to more immediate connection to the office through the online access, people want more in their rooms. A masseuse was cutting edge 15 years ago. How about in-room workouts with your own treadmill, personal trainer, and a healthy breakfast to go along with it? How about some late night cookies and a saucer of warm milk for your dog? (Remember Fido has a walk at 7:30 and aromatherapy in the in-house pet spa at 11:00). What about an organic children’s menu? No problem. 
Do you have an outdated menu, unreliable service times and food temperatures, and befuddled delivery staff? The ongoing hurdles of room service are never more glaring than when one is trying to get a glass of wine up the elevator. With so many ways to go wrong, many hotels just sweep it under the rug. Send something up if they ask for it, but otherwise in-room service is a headache. However, if a hotel is willing to make a deliberate investment in training, sales, menu, and delivery, the effort cannot fail to make a distinctive impression. Goodbye limp french fries, hello fine dining.

Whatever you want, you can get it 24 hours a day at some hotels - whether it’s on the menu or not. Kosher, vegan, or gluten-free, it’s all available. W Hotels offers room service through its Whatever/Whenever department, which means that guests can order whatever items they like, 24 hours a day, and the hotel will prepare the meal for them - even if it’s not on the menu. 

One of the biggest changes hotels are implementing is to bring a restaurant-like experience to the guest’s room. You may now have fine dining in your room, with the food served in courses instead of being delivered all together on one tray. A server arranges a table in the room with Frette linens, white Bernardaud china, and sterling silver, and delivers each course separately. Guests call when they are ready for their next course, or it may also arrive in 20-minute intervals. If guests can’t decide between the 1,000 different wines offered, it’s no problem. The room service sommelier will be happy to drop by.

“We were finding that more guests wanted to eat in their rooms,” says Tiffani Cailor, Director of Public Relations for the Four Seasons Hotel. “Many are business travellers who eat in courses between phone calls, so it made sense to make these changes.”

It has become obvious that if you are in a position to offer some kind of in-room service, you are pretty much obligated to do so. Today’s luxury is tomorrow’s expectation. Like the premium bedding and bath products of yesterday, these examples of enhanced in-room service may provide the earliest hints of where guest expectations may go. In order to compete these days, guest expectations must be exceeded, at the very least. 
Are your guests being served?