Hospitality

In the summer of 2013, the New York Hilton Midtown—the largest hotel in New York City—announced it would no longer offer room service. The decision shocked some guests who have come to associate the silver tray with luxury hotels, but it only confirmed what hospitality professionals have known for some time: room service is rarely profitable.

Room service contributes just 1.22 percent of a hotel's average revenues as of 2012, according to PKF Hospitality Research. That represents about $3.25 per occupied room. Not only that, but room service requires a significant staffing commitment.

Guests still need to eat—and they don't always want to commit to a full-service meal. But large hotels in urban environments, where takeout choices abound, can step back from their obligation to provide 24-hour dining, HotelNewsNow.com's Jeff Higley told Entrepreneur magazine. Hotels are coming up with novel ways to give business travelers and others easy dining options.

As it phased out room service, the New York Hilton introduced the Herb N' Kitchen concept to serve guests casual but well-made takeout meals. The menu includes not only the standard sandwiches and salads but also some imaginative choices, including gluten-free corn arepa with eggs, bacon and cheddar, pork-belly flatbread, and the fregola salad with walnuts and dried cherries. There's local flavor too, with cheeses from Murray's Cheese and Baked in Brooklyn pita chips. For travelers who really don't want to venture out, the Herb N' Kitchen does offer room delivery.

Groceries for guests

The Grand New York Hyatt chose to retain room service while cutting back its hours. To ensure guests are well fed around the clock, the Hyatt opened Market in 2010: a modern, gourmet food shop with fresh breakfast, lunch and dinner options. Affinia Hotels took a different approach. As USA Today reports, the chain partners with Fresh Direct to deliver carefully selected grocery kits to guests. The kits, which start at $52, include fruits, vegetables, snacks and microwavable meals. On the luxury end of the scale, the Trump Hotel Collection's attache service will pre-stock a guest's hotel room refrigerator with everything she needs.

Stripped-down room service

Instead of ending room service altogether, some hotels are coming up with simpler ways to deliver it. In 2014, Seattle's boutique Hotel Max announced a room-service partnership with restaurant Miller's Guild. Meals are delivered in custom-stamped brown paper bags with butcher’s twine and compostable containers, labeled with the name of the cook who prepared the meal. Menu options range from healthy, like the sausage-topped kale and hazelnut salad, to meaty, like the short rib sandwich with horseradish, parsley and yuzu. The Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan, found guests were often ordering pizza delivery, so the hotel reclaimed that business by starting its own pizza delivery service.

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