Foodservice Equipment Journal – August 2019

T

he term ‘dark kitchens’

has firmly entered the

industry vernacular over

recent years, but the very

definition of the concept could be

about to be stretched even further.

At a recent business forum held by

HGEM and EP Business in Hospitality,

attendees discussed the prospect

of ‘delivered-in’ food from dark

kitchens replacing hotel room service

as consumer demand for in-room

takeaways soars.

New research from HEGM’s latest

consumer survey reveals that 66%

of hotel guests have used a delivery

service to order food to their room

and experts insist that will only

increase, particular among millennials

prepared to snub hotel food for their

favourite takeaway brands. The debate,

which led to a heated discussion on

Hotels could soon host ‘dark kitchens’ so that food delivery aggregators such as Deliveroo

can supply in-room takeaways for customers that don’t want traditional room service.

HOTELS TIPPED TO HOST DARK

KITCHENS FROM FOOD DELIVERY FIRMS

whether hotels should embrace the

offer of collaborating with external

food delivery brands or risk causing

embarrassment to their customer, was

led by Alberto Lo Bue, head of business

for Deliveroo and Paul Fitzgerald,

director for Bespoke Hotels.

Lo Bue spoke of conversations that

are beginning to take shape within the

hotel sector, whereby Deliveroo would

potentially create its own kitchen

HOTEL TO ABANDON KITCHEN SUPPLIERS THAT DON’T USE SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING

One of Yorkshire’s leading hotels

plans to turn away suppliers that

can’t provide goods — including

kitchen wares — in sustainable

packaging and source from those

who can instead.

The Grand in York, which operates

two restaurants, aims to completely

eliminate single-use plastic from its

business by December 31.

And it has already started

informing its existing suppliers that if

they cannot find an alternative form

of packaging in time then it will have

no choice but to shop elsewhere.

The plan is the brainchild of the

luxury hotel’s Junior Board, which

is made up of junior members of

staff and has the backing of senior

management at the property.

They identified where and when

single-use plastic is used in each

department, from the kitchens, to

the 207 bedrooms, the spa and even

the marketing departments and

offices. Suppliers were invited to a

sustainability summit at the hotel last

month to explore the steps that can be

done to eliminate single-use plastic.

Olivia Odudu, chair of The Grand’s

Junior Board, said: “When we started

to really look into it, single-use

plastic was everywhere — from our

branded marketing materials, to

food packaging. What we wanted to

discover was what could be used in

its place — and so far the response

from the suppliers has been really

positive and enthusiastic.”

General manager, Philip Bolson, said

some uses of single use plastic were

not so easy to overcome, such as the

sheet which protects fresh fish from

being damaged by the ice required to

keep it in perfect condition, but he said

the hotel is committed to working with

its suppliers to find a solution.

“However, make no mistake, if

an alternative to single-use plastic

can’t be found then we will simply

not stock that product or use that

service,” he added.

The ban on single use-plastic is

one element of a wider ‘The Grand

Goes Green’ initative which the

Junior Board is rolling out across the

hotel in stages. The Grand is York’s

only AA five-star hotel and was built

in 1906 as the former North

Eastern Railway’s HQ.

space within a hotel’s premises. This

idea of having ‘dark kitchens’ within

hotels is one that resonated with many

hoteliers in the audience as it was

recognised that this could create a very

clear differentiator for hotels.

It was also noted by Fitzgerald,

meanwhile, that while Bespoke had

assumed that most delivered-in foods

would be ordered late at night in the

City and East of London, its data

revealed that the majority of bookings

were made between 8pm and 9pm.

Only in the West End was it after 11pm.

HEGM’s research shows that 71% of

guests aged between 26 and 35 order-

in food while staying in a hotel. This

is due to a combination of personal

preferences, quality and cost, with 48%

of consumers saying they find hotel

food unappealing and 35% arguing that

hotel food is too expensive.

12 | Foodservice Equipment Journal | August 2019 http://www.foodserviceequipmentjournal.com

ANALYSIS