7 Best Room Service Apps for Hotels 2022

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2021-07-19 10:26:35

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Hotel
Hotel Tech

The Finalists: The Top 7 Room Service Apps  For Hotels

Room service in hotels was the epitome of luxury in times past. The experience of ordering food and services over the phone, to be delivered right into the room, and savoring the experience was something people looked forward to. However, over time, it became a drain on resources for hotels. The average phone order takes three minutes, requiring busier hotels to have a dedicated staff member. Hotel guest software technology can help here by automating the entire ordering process. 

Hotels were really not very keen on offering room service anymore, but this downward trend is slowly changing with the introduction of technology in the form of room service apps. Guests are being offered new room service menus via QR codes or a customized hotel guest app.

Before going into further details, let’s just understand what these are all about. While room service revenue has declined, it still represents around $1000 in revenue per room, and industry reports suggest mobile solutions can increase order basket amounts by up to 20%.

What Is a Room Service App?

This a mobile application that allows guests to directly order room service with their smartphones. After downloading the hotel guest app, you simply scan the menu QR code and start placing the order with the app.  This is the basic gist of the room service app and depending upon which mobile solution you go with, it can even offer a host of other services to hotel guests. 

Room service apps can be either mobile apps or web-based apps. The former needs to be downloaded from the iOS or Google App store; the latter need not be downloaded and can be engaged with on any phone regardless of the operating system. 

Types of Room Service Apps

Room service ordering technology can be put into two categories:

  • In-house room service app: In this app, when the customer places an order, it’s forwarded to the on-site kitchen where it is prepared and then delivered to the guest room. The whole exercise is conducted on the hotel premises.
  • Outsourced room service app: Here, when the order is placed, it is forwarded to a nearby restaurant that has outsourced its kitchen to the hotel. Once the food is prepared, the hotel staff picks it up and delivers it to the guest room.

Common Features in Room Service Apps

Today, hotels strongly believe that a digital experience, especially with mobile hotel guest apps, is integral to offering a memorable stay at their properties. In light of this, more hotels are investing both money and resources when considering room service apps for their hotels. Here are some common features for room service apps:

  • Mobile ordering menu: Hotel guests can reach the mobile menu of the hotel via their smartphones and confidently place a food and beverage (F&B) order from the comfort of their rooms or anywhere else on the property. This leaves out the need to log in to the hotel website and search for the associated menu. The hotel guest software completely and easily makes the entire room service more seamless than it’s ever been.
  • Status updates on orders: In both types of apps, hotel guests can effortlessly track the status of their orders in real-time. This can include the courier’s location, estimated time of arrival, getting in touch with the delivery person, and an interface within the app to flag emerging concerns and issues.
  • F&B analytics: While the room service app keeps the guests happy, on the backend, this type of hotel guest app generates a treasure trove of data that will help supervisors to tweak and improve guest services. Information like most popular menu items, average fulfillment and delivery times, and guest satisfaction scores can easily be captured with these apps. Hotel management need not look elsewhere when sourcing data to run their analytics.
  • Guest loyalty and points: Many of the popular brands have already integrated this feature into their mobile hotel guest apps, and it allows hotels to add points for room service orders, too. These can be redeemed for free offers and other exclusive novelties from the hotel.

Top 7 Room Service Apps

Now let us list out the top seven room service apps that we believe are the best in the business. They not only offer guests comfort but also are good for the hotel’s bottom line.

1. Room Assistant

This room service app promises its guests access to all hotel services from the convenience of their smartphone or tablet. It allows the hotel to contact customers in real-time by messaging them individually or as a group. The app emphasizes its capability to promote, upsell, and cross-sell hotel services or products from local partners.

A hotel can solicit valuable reviews from the guests on various attributes like staff behavior and quality of service. There is a built-in capability to capture comments from guests as well. The app has the potential to build longstanding relationships with customers through personalized birthday greetings, event invitations, and information on the latest price offerings.

Pricing: Provided by the vendor

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2. Altitude:

Altitude is designed as a room service app or “smart guest app” that allows keyless entry, room control, and ordering. It is a cloud-based hotel guest software system that allows guest services staff to complete all daily tasks without any printing on paper. The app allows connecting with guests via real-time communication tools like push notifications and direct SMS.

It app seamlessly integrates with the hotel’s existing processes and is completely automated without any manual overhead. The app claims to be a cost-effective solution that captures guests’ needs and is easy to manage. Moreover, it allows hotels to drive additional revenue through upselling and cross-selling of services and direct bookings.

Pricing: Provided by the vendor

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3. Generous App:

This again is cloud-based hotel guest software that seamlessly delivers order requests to the hotel staff. The app allows order confirmations to be directly sent to guests via SMS or email. A smooth interface with add-to-cart features has easy checkout and payment options. The app allows queuing of completed and pending orders using a proprietary software management platform.

Guests can place housekeeping and luggage pickup requests using the app as well as make advance reservations to restaurants and spas within the hotel. The app even provides local weather updates and insights on local restaurants and tourist attractions. The app uses geofencing technology that allows hotels to retarget their existing customers with mobile ads.     

Pricing: Provided by the vendor

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4. Smartup

This is an easy-to-use, multi-lingual app that can serve guests regardless of whether your venue is a 7-star property or a tourist hotel. The guests can easily check on the availability of services along with respective prices. The app goes a bit further than many apps by including descriptions of the preparation and ingredients of dishes available for order.

This hotel concierge app allows hotels to customize their interface with their own brand and logo and supports all languages. Management can easily change the pricing on the menu in just a few taps. It even comes with a dynamic search engine, allowing guests to search for their favorite dishes. Besides this, the hotel can promote its other services and offers through this app.  

Pricing: Provided by the vendor

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5. Hotefy

Hotefy is designed as a hotel concierge app that can fulfill multiple guest requests from a smartphone. It has been created keeping in mind the tight budgets hotels may operate with and allows hotels to provide a room service app on a shoestring. In the past, the app has helped hotels and resorts to increase their revenue by 30%. 

The creators of the Hotefy hotel concierge app have been sensitive about guest concerns when it comes to things like cleanliness. Cleaning requests are just a tap away. Besides this, hotels can save a ton on costs as they do not have to invest in staff to patrol service areas of the hotel. Overall, the incorporation of Hotefy has improved the customer rating of hotels by a significant margin. 

Pricing (per month):

Trial: $0 | Hotel: $119 | HotelPro:$249 | Enterprise: Custom Pricing

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6. Guest Bell

This hotel guest software does away with the practice of downloading an app. Instead, the customers receive an automated pre-check-in email or SMS. When guests click on it, they can browse services and place orders even before arrival. During their stay, guests can receive sightseeing tips, arrange spa treatments, or book room service with minimal hassle.

Guests can chat with the in-house chatbot through simple queries while advanced queries are seamlessly escalated for human intervention. The app is multi-lingual and is compatible with all devices. The company claims to improve revenue by 30% with upselling of hotel services and promoting offers through push notifications. At check-out, the guests receive an overview of the whole stay with an accurate breakdown of expenses. Not to be missed, it even does the analytics part well.  

Pricing: Free to start

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7. Hotel Friend

This hotel guest app makes it easy for the globe trotter. They can place orders, schedule pickups, and even pay directly from their smartphones before their arrival or as a guest in-house. The app conveniently divides its services into “food,” “beverages,” “activities,” and so on. Guests can add services to their carts and set the time and date when they want their requests delivered. 

Get updates on order confirmations through notifications without the need to converse with the manager – the app claims hotels can improve their sales without staff engagement. Within a few taps on their smartphones, guests can have dinner in their rooms. The hotel concierge app even allows the hotel to offer customized pricing for their loyal customers.

Pricing: Starts at €100 after free trial

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Conclusion

Every hotel concierge app in this list has its pros and cons, and this makes it difficult to pick a clear winner. However, if your hotel wants a standard room service app, then it is better to go with Hotel Friend. Support, however, is not included, which increases your cost if you want to add that.

If you are looking for a more flexible hotel guest software solution that provides guests with room service, room configurations, and the option to book tours, then go with Hotefy. Their subscription pricing means you are only paying based on the number of open outlets. With options to outsource food and beverage and tours, there is great potential to increase your hotel’s revenue. 

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