The New York Hilton Midtown is the largest hotel in the city, with nearly 2,000 rooms. In August, it will earn another distinction: It will discontinue room service.
The move will eliminate 55 jobs. It could also ignite an industrywide trend. Other hotels, such as the Hudson in New York and the Public in Chicago, are already nibbling at the concept, offering meals delivered in brown paper bags.
The move will eliminate 55 jobs. It could also ignite an industrywide trend. Other hotels, such as the Hudson in New York and the Public in Chicago, are already nibbling at the concept, offering meals delivered in brown paper bags.
It's a cafeteria
The Hilton property on Sixth Avenue, between West 53rd and West 54th streets, will open a downmarket grab-and-go restaurant this summer called Herb n' Kitchen, a cafeteria-style eatery that will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. The plan was announced in October as part of a larger initiative at the hotel chain, which is simplifying its food offerings at Double Tree by Hilton and Embassy Suites as well.
What it didn't mention then, however, is that Herb n' Kitchen will replace the room-service operation at the midtown hotel.
"Like most full-service hotels, New York Hilton Midtown has continued to see a decline in traditional room-service requests over the last several years," said a spokesman in a statement. The Hilton Hawaiian Village was the first Hilton to eliminate room service. In October, it put away the China and linen in favor of takeout.
Room service is a big money loser for hotels, said John Fox, senior vice president of PKF Consulting. "I don't think anyone makes a profit on room service because of its labor costs," he said, adding, "I'm sure all the big hotels will be looking at what Hilton is doing."
And so, too, will the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, the union that represents the 55 workers and thousands of other employees who work in the room-service departments of the city's hotels.
The hotel industry is clearly testing the waters. A couple of years ago, the Grand Hyatt on East 42nd Street scaled back its room-service hours when it opened a 24-hour grab-and-go market. The Hyatt's room service shuts down at 11 p.m.
Hotelier Ian Schrager's Chicago property, Public, delivers food in a brown paper bag that's left outside guests doors. "People don't like paying a $7 service delivery fee or waiting 45 minutes for their food or greeting a server while their half-dressed," he told Crain's last year.
Breakfast-in-bed backlash?
But some consumers still have an appetite for breakfast in bed. And some wondered if there would be a backlash. "Are there people who won't stay there because it doesn't have room service?" asked Mr. Fox.
The Marriott Marquis Times Square, for one, offers room service as late as 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and until 1 a.m. the rest of the week, and it has no plans to reduce the service, said a spokeswoman for the property.
"Room service is very important at breakfast time," she said. "It is not a huge profit center, but if you are a hotel of a certain brand or category, it's something you provide."
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