For hotels with on-property dining, integrating ordering into their hotel’s app creates a better experience for guests and can offload pressure from dining and room service staff.
Hotels with restaurants may be reluctant to add room service and other delivery options to their existing hotel app. Questions naturally arise: Is it worth the work to get it set up? Does in-app dining really make a difference for the guest? What will the ROI be? For hoteliers considering investing in in-app dining, here’s a summary of the benefits we’ve seen for our clients and their guests.
A Smorgasbord of Possibilities for Guests
Showcase Your Menu
Guests enjoy the convenience of being able to browse a hotel’s restaurants’ menus and order food items directly from their mobile device or smart-room tablet. With a mobile app that includes digital dining, hoteliers can add their many on-property dining venues on a single app offering guests many dining choices. Plus, hotels can also add menus of other local restaurants, expanding food selections and providing the ordering experience your guests will enjoy.
Ordering from Anywhere
In-app dining enables guests to order food from their mobile device and have their meals delivered to them anywhere on the property. Whether a guest wants a cocktail by the pool, a snack after a spa treatment, or lunch brought to them while working from the lobby, all they have to do is input their order via the hotel’s app and their orders will be on their way.
Pick-Up Orders, Anytime
Having a pick-up option is great for both guests and staff. For guests who want to bring some food with them while they sightsee, or want to grab their dinner on their way up to their room at the end of the day, they can schedule a pick-up order via a hotel app. A pick up option also saves staff a trip to a guest room to deliver food. Pick up orders, unlike room service, can be offered to non-guests as well. Day visitors who are enjoying a day at a hotel’s casino, or attending a conference or event, can also order food from the hotel’s app.
A Buffet of Benefits for Your Staff
Reduces App Confusion
When properties have a hotel app without digital dining capabilities, guests have to order food through an alternate channel, which can sometimes cause order and delivery confusion. But when dining capabilities are consolidated within a hotel app, orders are easier to view and keep track of, and there is less likely to be confusion.
Waste Management
In-app digital dining can also provide actionable guest metrics, such as which menu items are more popular, that can help with making efficient purchasing decisions. When considering the bottom line, investing in in-app tech that distills vital data so staff and management can adapt to guests food and drink preferences should be high priority.
Instant Updates
Paper menus are quickly becoming a thing of the past. With in-app dining, menu items can be updated immediately, saving on printing costs and the added tasks of staff having to manually switch out old paper menus. Add specials, promotions or event discounts in your hotel app to promote upsells and drive revenue.
These key benefits should give you an idea as to why so many hotels, casinos, and resorts are integrating dining options into their hotel apps. There’s no time like the present to make your dining experience that much more appetizing!
For more information about integrating dining into your hotel app, reach out today.
