Room Service Challenges
Hotels try to trim room service costs
As the sluggish economy forces hotel kitchens to do more with less, chefs have sought ways to retain a cherished perk of business trips: room service.
Source: John Gress for The New York Times
Mark Payne, executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago, says he has seen a decline in room service orders, but items like sandwiches remain popular.
They are substituting cheaper cuts of meat, making some foods in advance, shrinking portion sizes and promoting local fresh fare. And they are serving comfort foods, said Ron DeSantis, director of consulting at the Culinary Institute of America — like roasted chicken, Reuben sandwiches and French fries with a couple of dips instead of versions flavored with Parmesan and truffles.
“Those are the things that resonate and aren’t over the top in costs,” he said. “They want to use ingredients in a smart way to meet price points — or expense accounts for business travel.”
Even before the downturn, room service (now often called in-room dining) was not profitable on its own. “Hotels have always tried to make money with room service, but they never could,” said Joseph McInerney, president and chief executive of American Hotel and Lodging Association, a trade group. “It’s a service you need to have if you want to consider yourself a first-class hotel.”
In-room dining is about making people feel welcome and at home, which translates to improved customer loyalty ratings and a heightened perception of the hotel, said Brad Barnes, a chef and a founder of GigaChef, a restaurant consulting firm.
“Even if people don’t partake, they like reading that a place has room service — or overnight room service,” he said. Then there is the business customer who arrives at midnight and is hungry and comes 20 times a year. “You’re not looking at his club sandwich. You’re looking at his room.”
For Fritz Doss, executive chef at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, that means offering a broad menu with items as varied as tuna sandwiches and dry-aged beef, and steaks in two sizes. For the diner who wants to “eat with a conscience,” he said, he offers a five-ounce portion of “lean protein” with no thick sauces and lots of vegetables.
Mark Payne, executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago, said he had seen a downturn in room service orders. Some items, he said, like the hamburger, Caesar salad, club sandwich, Cobb salad and the chocolate cake, remained popular. He said he had also been successful with the $35 three-course meal, featuring foods from the Green City Market.
John Gress for The New York Times
Occasional big orders have not made up for the slow economy.
At the Clift Hotel, near Union Square in San Francisco, the economy has forced reductions in the overnight room service staff. Thomas Rhodes, the executive chef, said the kitchen was assembling a limited menu with items like a Cobb salad, club sandwich, soup and hamburger — all part of the burger-salad-sandwich triumvirate that is the foundation of room service. Staffing for dinnertime room service remains relatively intact.
Jan Freitag of Smith Travel Research, a hotel industry data analyst, said that demand for hotel rooms was down 8 percent in the first quarter but that he did not have statistics on demand for room service.
At the Crowne Plaza-Hamilton in Washington, restaurant and room service business has actually increased in the last six months, according to Spencer Wolff, the executive chef. He attributes that to the insular nature of the city, blustery spring weather that kept guests inside and the hotel’s aggressive approach to maintaining sales. That includes a happy hour (with those menu items available to room service customers) and a new tapas menu.
After the Driskill, in Austin, Tex., reduced room rates and room service prices, occupancy rates and room service volume rose, said Jonathan Gelman, executive chef. “Where we were offering a New York strip or a filet, it’s now a skirt steak, or a steak salad with flank steak. It tastes great, so we all win,” he said. He also has cut portion sizes — a rib-eye steak is offered at 12 ounces, down from 16 ounces, and its price has been cut to $28, from $38.
When he is traveling, Mr. McInerney of the American Hotel and Lodging Association says he skips the chef’s daily special in the restaurant in favor of a cheeseburger or a club sandwich from room service. He is on the road for two or three days a week, and said he preferred to unwind in his room and watch sports on the television or work on his laptop. “I want to relax at my own speed,” he said.
Rohit Verma, an associate professor of operations management at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, said he preferred room service, too. “Business travelers have flights at odd times, or they need a quick meal before a meeting,” he said. “If I’m by myself, I’d rather sit in my room and work while the food comes than sit in a restaurant.”
Source:
New York Times
As the sluggish economy forces hotel kitchens to do more with less, chefs have sought ways to retain a cherished perk of business trips: room service.
Source: John Gress for The New York TimesMark Payne, executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago, says he has seen a decline in room service orders, but items like sandwiches remain popular.
They are substituting cheaper cuts of meat, making some foods in advance, shrinking portion sizes and promoting local fresh fare. And they are serving comfort foods, said Ron DeSantis, director of consulting at the Culinary Institute of America — like roasted chicken, Reuben sandwiches and French fries with a couple of dips instead of versions flavored with Parmesan and truffles.
“Those are the things that resonate and aren’t over the top in costs,” he said. “They want to use ingredients in a smart way to meet price points — or expense accounts for business travel.”
Even before the downturn, room service (now often called in-room dining) was not profitable on its own. “Hotels have always tried to make money with room service, but they never could,” said Joseph McInerney, president and chief executive of American Hotel and Lodging Association, a trade group. “It’s a service you need to have if you want to consider yourself a first-class hotel.”
In-room dining is about making people feel welcome and at home, which translates to improved customer loyalty ratings and a heightened perception of the hotel, said Brad Barnes, a chef and a founder of GigaChef, a restaurant consulting firm.
“Even if people don’t partake, they like reading that a place has room service — or overnight room service,” he said. Then there is the business customer who arrives at midnight and is hungry and comes 20 times a year. “You’re not looking at his club sandwich. You’re looking at his room.”
For Fritz Doss, executive chef at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta, that means offering a broad menu with items as varied as tuna sandwiches and dry-aged beef, and steaks in two sizes. For the diner who wants to “eat with a conscience,” he said, he offers a five-ounce portion of “lean protein” with no thick sauces and lots of vegetables.
Mark Payne, executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago, said he had seen a downturn in room service orders. Some items, he said, like the hamburger, Caesar salad, club sandwich, Cobb salad and the chocolate cake, remained popular. He said he had also been successful with the $35 three-course meal, featuring foods from the Green City Market.
John Gress for The New York TimesOccasional big orders have not made up for the slow economy.
At the Clift Hotel, near Union Square in San Francisco, the economy has forced reductions in the overnight room service staff. Thomas Rhodes, the executive chef, said the kitchen was assembling a limited menu with items like a Cobb salad, club sandwich, soup and hamburger — all part of the burger-salad-sandwich triumvirate that is the foundation of room service. Staffing for dinnertime room service remains relatively intact.
Jan Freitag of Smith Travel Research, a hotel industry data analyst, said that demand for hotel rooms was down 8 percent in the first quarter but that he did not have statistics on demand for room service.
At the Crowne Plaza-Hamilton in Washington, restaurant and room service business has actually increased in the last six months, according to Spencer Wolff, the executive chef. He attributes that to the insular nature of the city, blustery spring weather that kept guests inside and the hotel’s aggressive approach to maintaining sales. That includes a happy hour (with those menu items available to room service customers) and a new tapas menu.
After the Driskill, in Austin, Tex., reduced room rates and room service prices, occupancy rates and room service volume rose, said Jonathan Gelman, executive chef. “Where we were offering a New York strip or a filet, it’s now a skirt steak, or a steak salad with flank steak. It tastes great, so we all win,” he said. He also has cut portion sizes — a rib-eye steak is offered at 12 ounces, down from 16 ounces, and its price has been cut to $28, from $38.
When he is traveling, Mr. McInerney of the American Hotel and Lodging Association says he skips the chef’s daily special in the restaurant in favor of a cheeseburger or a club sandwich from room service. He is on the road for two or three days a week, and said he preferred to unwind in his room and watch sports on the television or work on his laptop. “I want to relax at my own speed,” he said.
Rohit Verma, an associate professor of operations management at Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration, said he preferred room service, too. “Business travelers have flights at odd times, or they need a quick meal before a meeting,” he said. “If I’m by myself, I’d rather sit in my room and work while the food comes than sit in a restaurant.”
Source:
New York Times
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