At fancy hotels, the new thing is the maxi-bar
H| otels are turning to new bar experiences as a means to keep luxury customers on their toes — and increase favorable food and beverage margins, while they’re at it.
Enter in-room cocktail service. While in-room dining has been on the decline — showing a 3 percent dip from 2016 to 2017, according to hospitality insights firm STR — hoteliers are realizing that expertly shaken martinis, rather than well-done cheeseburgers, are just what travelers want showing up at their doors.
In some cases, that means dispatching a bartender for in-person service; at other times, it’s about making a room’s minibar feel more like a home bar.
“As the mother of a 6-year-old, having a perfectly created cocktail in my room creates a really memorable moment,” says Kelly McCourt, director of sales and marketing at The Darcy, which opened in Washington, D.C., last year with a cocktail butler who crafts the hotel’s signature drinks from a bedside bar cart.
Consider this the next evolution in luxury hotel service; after all, why go down to the bar when the drinks can come to you?
Here, the leaders of the in-room drinking pack — expect to see additional resorts join the ranks in the very near future.