If you order from room service in Hawaii, changes are afoot which you should know. In fact, the once ubiquitous Hawaii hotel offering may soon largely go the way of the dial telephone.
Hilton Hawaiian Village Goes First
This nearly 3,000 room behemoth, and the largest hotel in Hawaii, has already dumped its room service. It is the first Hilton property to try this new approach. Traditional room service was replaced by a high-end fast food alternative, which can either be take out or delivered. White table linens are gone, with meals in disposable containers that are either picked up or delivered in paper bags.
Our friend, and Hilton Hawaii VP Jerry Gibson said guests simply don’t want that kind of service any longer, and that demand for room service has dropped 40% in the past 10 years. In a valiant attempt to revitalize the centuries old concept, they’ve come up with a new plan.
Have you been to the Hilton and tried their Fresh Connections option?
A trend to watch
Other hotels including Sheraton Waikiki are closely watching this change. We’re going to soon hear from other properties which will either adopt this approach or significantly change their room service methods and offerings to keep pace with the times. Sheraton is reported to be changing their room service to offer meals from their restaurants rather than maintain a separate room service facility.
Reduced Cost options
Room service in Hawaii has always been very pricey. The Hilton’s Fresh Connections alternative is, relatively speaking, not. Breakfast, lunch and dinner options, available for takeout or delivery from about 7am to 10pm daily. We were impressed that prices are for the most part under $10, but for dinner can go as high as $26 for entrees. The room “runner” option also incurs an $8 fee plus 17% tip.
Innovative Access
To access “room service” (or make other reservations), guests visit a new website via computer or phone app, but at this point still use a conventional telephone to place the order. Have you used a conventional phone lately?
Still room to grow
There are no alcoholic beverages available at this time, although plans include serving beer and wine too.
The downside
As a result of the new offering at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the room service department has closed. While the hotel employees mostly transferred to other areas within the hotel, the union representing them is concerned.
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As a Kauai nanny in the hotels I look forward to ordering a meal for a child that does not wind up costing the parent $30. Especially when they only order noodle soup or mac and cheese. Then I can feel ok ordering something as well.