The Evolution of Hotel In-Room Coffee
Coffee in hotel rooms. It’s likely one the first things you look at when you enter your room – along with the bed, the bathroom, and the view. This moment, the first impression is one that cannot be overlooked or undervalued. It’s the first moment the guest judges their expectations versus their reality. Do the room and the rooms’ amenities reflect fairly reflect the price they are paying?
What has changed over the years in regards to what guests desire and expect? Over the past decade, hotels have had to reinvent themselves as market trends and expectations have evolved. For most modern guests, who frequent premium properties, luxury is expected at every level of the experience. One of the key drivers in this change is demographics and connectivity. The new demographic that hotels are looking to attract and impress include Millennials and GEN X’s. This younger clientele is more selective of what they eat and drink, and are willing to pay a premium to ensure quality. Besides, all demographics have access to a wealth of information to assess their options before booking.
This new guest lives both on and offline. They frequent social media and travel websites like Travelocity, Hotels.com, and Expedia to research the hotels in which they stay and the restaurants in which they eat. They are educated on online research and place value on customer comments, reviews, and experience ratings in addition to the photos on social media and on the web. As such, the importance of ratings is a big driver for top-performing hotels that provide an exceptional experience. One area that’s frequently included in the comments, especially when it’s exceptional, is the in-room coffee.
Still today, some ‘luxury’ or premium properties offer coffee that is a juxtaposition to their other amenities. The coffee provided is not close to the caliber of coffee the guest would ever consider consuming even at their own home. The coffee comes also in formats that the regular consumer has never seen or will use (little bags that can be mistaken for tea come to mind). A significant shift I’ve seen during my time in the industry is attention to detail on these aspects. The properties that rank highest on booking websites and have raving reviews are the ones that pay attention to these details. They don’t just want to provide amenities that are as good as the ones a guest would have at home, they want to make it equivalent to the best they could have at home.How the best in class properties are creating an exceptional experience with these details is through their in-room coffee. They look at the trends in the market and assess which brands align with their brand image, as well as the current trends. One of the top trends that should be taken into consideration is quality. According to research by the National Coffee Association (NCA), the number of those who consume specialty coffee drinkers daily has seen the fastest overall growth in the coffee market. According to the NCA report, “This represents a gradual but fundamental shift in the American coffee landscape.” It means that more people are drinking coffee that comes at a higher price premium. The hotels take this information and ensure their coffee offering has the quality expected by the modern guest and reflects an understanding of their priorities.
A second factor top tier hotels consider is sustainability.
The NCA’s 2019 Conference, titled “Crossroads” highlighted sustainability as one of two critical issues consumers are demanding of the coffee industry. Consumers research how their coffee is sourced and whether the coffee preparation method is sustainable. Is the coffee package recycle-able? Is it recycled? The modern guest places value on these aspects of the coffee experience and as such, sustainability is a key factor to consider when selecting an in-room coffee.
Hotels thinking of improving their in-room service should consider the trends of their target demographic in addition to the pros and cons of the different products available to them. They must align themselves with a brand that meets their needs and gives their customers an experience worth posting about!
Notes:
If you’re interested in the measures Nespresso takes in regards to sustainability and quality, please read more about their measures here.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/simransethi/2017/12/01/a-surprising-new-trend-in-coffee/#6cb2ee45b311
https://www.ncausa.org/Convention2019