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Trends
October 2023

Room service: What we really order now

By Justin Quirk
October 2023
Trends

From burgers to butler service, a new Hotels.com survey reveals how we really eat when nobody’s watching

October 2023
By Justin Quirk
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When Hotels.com interviewed Busy Philipps as part of our Perfect 10 series, the actor was unequivocal about the way to her heart when it comes to hospitality. “If a hotel has a good room-service burger, you’ve got me for life,” she told us. Notably, it wasn’t just a good burger—plenty of hotels have top-flight quarter pounders available in their award-winning restaurants—but a good burger that could be delivered to your door, a meal where the food comes to you, a culinary experience where you don’t need to worry about getting ready, leaving the room, or interrupting whatever you’re doing.  

An increasing number of us feel the same way as Philipps. Ten years after predictions of its demise—as business travelers tightened their budgets and major chains cut their in-room offerings—room service is more popular than ever, with 45% of surveyed U.S. hotels reporting that demand for it was rising. The sweet spot of comfort, convenience and indulgence, good room service is what elevates a hotel experience from “great” to “perfect.”  

For this reason, we at Hotels.com recently launched our inaugural Room Service Report, a deep dive into the current state of in-room hospitality worldwide, and a fascinating glimpse into what we really order when it’s just us, the hotel room and maybe our traveling companions to worry about. “Oftentimes room service is a convenience, but this year’s report embraced the luxury of it,” says Hotels.com’s Senior Director of Global PR Melanie Fish, who oversaw the report. “Whether it’s because hotels are getting creative or guests realize food tastes better when you eat it in a bathrobe, it’s clear that room service is back.” Read on for the key findings from the report. 

  1. In-room has gone high-end

    27% of U.S. hotels say guests spend on average more than $100 on their order, with steak and champagne usually the most expensive items. However, there is also a trend for one-off extravagances: At The Post Oak Hotel in Houston, the Black Gold Burger (Wagyu beef in a caviar infused 24k-gold brioche bun) is $1,600; The Plaza in N.Y.C. can deliver the Home Alone sundae (16 scoops of ice cream) for $300; guests at Park Lane New York can dial 5 for roe on-demand via the Caviar Hotline; meanwhile, the Milestone Hotel in London goes beyond food with in-room performance from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (orchestra price on inquiry). 

  2. It’s not just for the naughty stuff

    Room service isn’t just about indulging yourself. The survey also reveals how often ultra health-conscious travelers are calling down to reception. Two of the top 10 requests are for diet water (bottled water fortified with vitamins and nutrients) or bottled water that has been pre-boiled.  

  3. Requests are getting stranger

    The whole point of eating in private is that you can tuck into whatever you truly feel like, and not worry about how it looks to other guests. This might account for the presence in the survey of orders for melted ice cream, cockle popcorn and blowfish. This last order—better known in Japan as fugu (left) —is a prized delicacy usually eaten as sashimi. However, if not prepared correctly, it can contain tetrodotoxin—a serious poison that attacks the nervous system and has no known antidote—making it the riskiest order on our list. 

  4. The butler has been reinvented

    It’s not just what’s being delivered to your room that is getting more interesting, but also the way that it arrives. At Ashford Castle in Ireland’s County Mayo you can take your pick from a selection of Lego sets, which will be delivered to your room on a silver tray by the Lego butler for you to construct. Meanwhile, at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa, French Polynesia, dinner for two will be delivered to your overwater villa by a waterborne butler in a traditional canoe. And finally, if you’re at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago and in the mood for ice cream, stay put: The Ice Cream Man will wheel their cart directly to your bedside and fix up whichever flavor you fancy. 

  5. Burgers rule the roost

    Not even close: However healthy we might profess to be in public, when travelers are dining in private, junk food is king. Our survey shows that 49% of U.S. respondents list burgers as their most popular order. Globally, they also come in first place, ahead of pizza, club sandwiches, tacos and fries. Meanwhile, 43% of hotels surveyed say that even when they offer upscale dining on site, a majority of guests go casual behind closed doors. 

Justin Quirk

Author

Justin Quirk is Associate Creative Director of Editorial at Expedia Group, as well as a writer and editor who has worked for titles including The Sunday Times, The Guardian and Esquire covering music, design, and current affairs. He is also the author of Nothin’ But a Good Time, an acclaimed cultural history of 1980s heavy metal.

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