Re-imagining room service - how digital ordering could turn in-room dining into your F&B revenue superhero

Room service has long been one of the most loved, and most overlooked, parts of the hotel experience. The idea is timeless: good food, delivered to your door, enjoyed in total comfort. But the way some hotels still run it, with a laminated menu on the desk, a phone call to a busy line and a guess at when the order might arrive, belongs to another era.

The opportunity for 2027 is to treat in-room dining more like the food delivery experience guests already know and use regularly (through the likes of DoorDash and UberEATS for example).

Let guests order from their own phones, in a few taps, and choose whether they want it delivered to their room or to pick up from the restaurant. Done well, this one change can lift revenue, free up your team and drive guest satisfaction.

Guests have moved on, and room service needs to catch up

Think about how your guests live their daily lives. They buy, book and pay for almost everything online.

Then they check into a hotel and are asked to pick up a phone, read their order out to someone and hope it gets delivered correctly.

Expectations have shifted firmly towards convenience, speed and a polished experience. Guests want to place an order in a few clicks, for it to arrive reasonably quickly. Third-party delivery apps have set that standard, and hotels that don't meet it risk watching guests order from elsewhere, with the revenue going out the door.

Here's seven reasons to digitise in-room dining:

1. Drive more revenue from every order

We eat with our eyes. A digital menu with mouth-watering photos does a far better selling job than a list of items on a paper menu, with well-placed upsells (a side, a drink pairing, a dessert) just a tap away.

There's a psychological win too: ordering privately on a phone is guilt-free. Nobody is on the other end of the line to hear you add extra fries or that calorie-laden chocolate dessert. The result is a higher average check (IRIS report up to 30% extra revenue with digital orders) and more orders overall.

2. Save time at the front desk and speed up delivery

Every phone order brings admin with it: answering routine questions, reading back the order, confirming add-ons and making call-backs when something isn't clear. Digital ordering removes most of that.

Orders go straight to the kitchen, complete and correct, so the process is less manual and less labour-intensive. Your team spends less time on admin and more time on hospitality, and guests quickly get used to faster delivery (IRIS report that hotels save up to ten minutes per order with digital processes).

3. Give guests comfort, control and convenience

Digital ordering hands control back to guests through a tool they already use in every other part of life. Back late from a concert? Arrived exhausted after a long-haul flight? Fancy breakfast in bed, an easy family meal in the room or cocktails on the balcony? Guests can browse, order and pay whenever the mood takes them.

It also opens up pre-ordering. Guests can schedule breakfast to be delivered at a set time tomorrow, or even pre-order amenities so their room is stocked before they arrive.

4. Improve order accuracy

When guests place orders themselves, there's no room for miscommunication over a crackly phone line.

Menus can be offered in multiple languages, prices are transparent and delivery times show when the order will arrive. Fewer mistakes mean less food wastage, fewer refunds and fewer disappointed guests.

5. Compete head-on with third-party delivery apps

Third-party apps have moved the goalposts on convenience, speed and order tracking. The good news is that hotels can beat them at their own game.

Food from your own kitchen is fresher, handled less and travels a fraction of the distance to reach the guest's door. Match the apps on ease of ordering and you can offer a genuinely superior service, while retaining the revenue (and the guest relationship) in-house.

6. Let guests customise their order exactly how they want it

Guests can filter the menu by their preferences, dietary needs, allergens and intolerances, then tailor dishes to suit. Clearly highlighted allergens make ordering safer, guests get food they'll actually enjoy and less ends up wasted.

7. Keep your menu accurate and up to date

Printed menus go out of date the moment something changes. A digital menu puts you in full control.

Add seasonal specials, flag items running low, launch new promotional bundles or change service times, and the update is live instantly. Amend as often as you like.

Make 2027 the year in-room dining earns its keep

In-room dining doesn't have to be a basic amenity that barely breaks even. With digital ordering, it becomes a convenient, accurate and profitable channel that guests want to use.

Bigger orders, smoother operations, fewer errors and happier guests all flow from the same simple change: letting people order digitally - the way they do everywhere else.

The hotels that make the switch now will set the standard for guest expectations in 2027 and beyond.

Ready to reimagine your room service?

IRIS Digital F&B Ordering gives your guests the fast, intuitive ordering experience they expect, with image-rich menus, smart upsells, allergen filters, multiple languages, and pre-ordering, all managed by your team in one place. Hotel groups such as Marriott, Hilton and Four Seasons already use IRIS to make every stay easier for guests (and staff).

Contact the team to see how digital in-room dining could become your F&B revenue superhero in 2027.