Making Room Service Click How Web-based ordering is changing the in-room dining experience. by Jeff Colchamiro
Despite some hotels’ efforts, the typical in-room dining experience hasn’t changed that much for guests. Sure, kitchen technology has improved, allowing hotels to offer a wider selection in a shorter amount of time. But the overall process is still the same in most cases: A guest checks into his room, finds the paper menu, picks up the phone, places an order, and waits for it to arrive, hoping it’s accurate when it shows up at the room.
Over the years, several hotel companies have tried to make the experience more interactive by placing menus on TVs or other devices. But the TV experience isn’t truly interactive, and installing other devices in every room can be costly.
Now, several companies are using existing technology to create interactive ordering experiences without a major upfront investment from the hotel. The systems, from companies such as GBCblue and runtriz, are Web-based, allowing guests to use their own laptops, cell phones, or other Internet devices to access in-room dining menus and other hotel services. The manufacturers of such systems host all the information at their own facilities, so hotel properties don’t need to install servers or any equipment other than basic Internet access. There is a set-up fee and then a monthly fee based on the property’s size and needs.
“We discovered a long time ago that putting a hardware piece in a guestroom is difficult at best,” says Joe Adkisson, vice president guest technology and key accounts for GBCblue. “Today, nobody has that kind of capital. Somebody has to pick up the tab on it. There are still some legacy ideas out there that content should be run only through the TV. But I speak with so many people who say content through the TV is dead. People come in, they turn the TV on, and they open up their laptop.”
When guests use GBCblue’s ORION system, they see an interactive room service menu as well as other services from on and off the property. When they place an in-room dining order, the system “rings” in the kitchen on a regular computer. The kitchen staff then takes the order and can interact with the guest online through a chat window if necessary.
According to Atkinson, after piloting the system at a few properties, GBCblue representatives met with executives at Starwood Hotels & Resorts, who asked if the system could include outside amenities. “At Westins, people would call an amenity in; they’d be outside the hotel and would want to order a birthday cake for someone inside the hotel,” explains Adkisson. “So the concierge would take their credit card information over the phone, on a piece of paper, and that is not PCI compliant. You can’t do that anymore. So they asked if we could turn ORION into an amenity delivery system and host the credit card area. We built that and we’re now installing it in properties.”
Also, Omni Hotels requested to integrate the system with Synergy, its maintenance management system. Now, guests can request housekeeping or other functions.
Orders Up Both GBCblue’s ORION and runtriz’s Hotel Evolution systems allow hotels to update their in-room dining menus in real-time, so items and prices can be changed as often as needed without reprinting menus. Additionally, guests can make special requests and interact with the kitchen staff to ask questions without picking up a phone.
Whether it’s the novelty of ordering online, the appeal of seeing the items on-screen or the guilt-free experience of Web-ordering, the companies say the systems have increased total orders and the average check significantly. Matthew Allard, CEO of runtriz, says that in the first 120 days it used the system, Malibu Beach Inn saw a 25 percent increase in room service orders as well as a $15 per ticket increase.
“We’ve seen a large up-sell because everything is visually represented,” Allard says. “Research shows that people are a lot more responsive to images than to text. And it’s an impulse. When people order a brownie sundae and milk around midnight ... Typically they wouldn’t call down and do that, but because it’s easy, hotels have seen an uptick.”
Order accuracy is also a benefit of using these systems as opposed to traditiona phone orders. Adkisson notes that kitchen staff members often don’t speak English as a first language, and phone orders often go through several people before they’re filled. Allard also points out that 40 percent of guests at Malibu Beach Inn are European, so the fact that Hotel Evolution works in seven languages helps prevent miscommunication.
“It allows the hotel to serve the guests more accurately and avoid mistakes that lead to the customers being upset,” he says. “That’s always a problem with room service, and it’s not like in a restaurant where you can just fix it; room service can take 30-45 minutes to get to the room. So once they make a mistake, the guest is pretty displeased.”
Making Guests Aware Of course, hotels have to get guests to log-on and find the system in the first place, so some offline marketing is required. Adkisson says elevator signage is the most effective, but GBCblue also provides a key insert, a tab for the hotel’s compendium, and a splash screen when guests first access the Internet. Meanwhile, runtriz’s system provides a video loop hotels can run behind the front desk.
“The hotels that send pre-check-in e-mails include a link, so guests can log into the application and set up their stay before they get there,” Allard says. “They can set up a wakeup call, order breakfast, set up a spa appointment or make a dinner reservation.”
Know Your Guests The runtriz system gives properties a picture of what’s selling—and, perhaps more important, what’s not selling. “We have reports of conversion goals—how many times an item is viewed and how many times it’s purchased,” says Allard. “So, based on that, they can change items, adjust pricing, or update the image to make it more appealing. You can never tell what people are looking at on a paper menu.”
Properties can also use the stored guest information to customize future visits. For example, if a guest orders a Heineken from room service, the hotel will have that information on file. So the next time that guest books a room the property can stock the minibar with Heineken. “It’s valuable to customize the experience for the guest and really be proactive about it,” Allard says.
While the systems are designed to work with guests’ existing devices, some properties may choose to provide hardware to make sure everyone has access. GBCblue is working with Apple to optimize the system for the iPod Touch, so hotels can offer them poolside. “Resorts have always wanted to distribute some sort of device out by the pool for food or drinks,” says Adkisson. “It’s a trendy thing.” Some of runtriz’s properties also hand out branded iPod Touch PDA devices to guests who request them or to VIPs.
Both companies are still in the early stages of rolling out their products, but they say feedback from hotels and guests has been quite positive. “It’s a fun thing for the F&B people and customers,” says Adkisson. “F&B directors like it since they don’t have to reprint a compendium to bring new products out to the guests. On the guest side, it makes it look like the hotel’s making an effort to stay abreast with technology, and it’s a very inexpensive solution for that.” n
