Dive Brief:
- Extended Stay America has partnered with food delivery app Grubhub to offer benefits to guests ordering meals during their stay, the companies announced Thursday.
- Through the partnership, guests will have $0 delivery fees on eligible orders through Grubhub+ membership and a “tailored” ordering experience on the Grubhub app.
- Extended Stay America is the latest hotel chain to partner with a food delivery app, following other extended stay brands including Homewood Suites by Hilton and My Place Hotels.
Dive Insight:
The partnership will be available at most of Extended Stay America’s 700-plus hotels, according to the announcement.
“While all our spacious suites have fully equipped kitchens, we understand there are days when you just want to unwind with your favorite takeout, just like you would at home. This partnership with Grubhub allows our guests to do just that,” said Adam Cannon, Extended Stay America’s chief brand officer, in a statement.
The partnership isn’t Grubhub’s first with a hotel company. In 2023, extended stay brand Homewood Suites by Hilton and Sonesta tapped the app for partnerships at 500 and 120 hotels, respectively. Choice Hotels International also brought the app to 500 hotels across its midscale and extended stay portfolio in 2023.
“Americans became extremely comfortable during the pandemic about getting food delivered to them, and this has transferred its way into the hotel industry,” Chip Rogers, then-CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association, told Hotel Dive that year.
In 2024, extended stay chain My Place Hotels of America announced a similar partnership. Some hotels even use robots to take meals to guests’ rooms.
Meanwhile, hotels that still operate food and beverage in-house have seen that department push labor costs higher, according to a December report from STR. F&B labor costs saw a nearly 15% rise in 2024, the report found, though guests, particularly in groups, were also spending more in hotels’ food and beverage outlets.
