Simple yet sophisticated
Hoteliers are remaking room service offerings to focus less on frills and more on what guests really want .
by Ann BAgEL STORck , mAnAging EdiTOR
As part of a strategy to simplify room service and deliver what guests value most , Auberge Resorts serves room service in somewhat plain baskets .
As room service reinvents itself in the face of changing guest preferences and even questions about its viability , the mantra it is following in many cases is straightforward : Less is more .
Auberge Resorts , Mill Valley , California , has downsized its room service menus to better fit what guests are really ordering , explains Vice President of Operations John Washko , and service has been simplified as well . “ It ’ s served in a basket — not on a trolley or some oversized container ,” Washko says .
“ Guests are using hotels differently nowadays ,” says Corey Nyman , director of operations at Las Vegas-based consultancy The Nyman Group . “ Room service is not a top amenity in people ’ s minds anymore . I think we ’ re going to see a shrinking of room service menus . Operators will realize what they need to offer and what they don ’ t .”
Such was the case with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts , Toronto , which has streamlined room service menus even as business has remained consistent . “ There was a time when the room service menu might have looked like the King James Bible ,” jokes Chris Hunsberger , Four Seasons ’ executive vice president , product and innovation . “ In many cases we have slimmed that down to think about what items are most important .”
Some hotels are stepping out with interactive or unexpected menu offerings , such as s ’ mores kits or milk and cookies , notes
Jacob Cross , vice president of marketing and public relations for San Franciscobased consultancy Puccini Group . Cross adds that developing menus that are easily executable and fit well with other F & B outlets is even more important .
Stéphane Bellon , vice president , corporate food and beverage , for Kempinski Hotels , Geneva , agrees more focused yet adaptable menus are likely the wave of the future in room service — in addition to an intense emphasis on quality . “ I see guests willing to pay a premium for highend , healthy and seasonal offerings ,” Bellon says . “ In the luxury hotel business , room service is a required service , and I believe in the future , the expectations of the guest will continue to rise .”
38 HOTELS January / February 2014 www . hotelsmag . com