4 Ways Hotels Can Cater to 2021’s Food Trends

Guest preferences are a personal matter, but they can result in dominating trends across the hospitality industry. These inclinations resulted in more virtual amenities and updated properties over the last few years. Now they’re focusing on culinary interests and health trends.

Here are four ways hotels can cater to 2021’s food trends. They’ll make any property more appealing to new and returning guests, ensuring success in the new year.

1. Display All Ingredients

People may not have cared about what they ate in the past, but now knowledge is more important than convenience. Guests want to know what’s in the breakfast buffet or room service meals, down to the macro and micronutrients.

This trend may have started with the rise in the prevalence of food allergies, so it’s a way of life for many people. Between 1997 and 2008, researchers found peanut allergies tripling in children alongside other common sensitivities. Now others are ditching irritants like gluten because it helps with other conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and diabetes.

A full list of ingredients in each on-site meal will give future guests more power over their health and trust in the property’s culinary options.

2. Provide Delivery Services

Travelers are getting used to leaving home for trips, given the recent lift on stay-at-home mandates. Only 18% of Americans feel safe eating at restaurants, so hotels can meet this need in the coming months by providing delivery services. Handing out pamphlets with local delivery options reassures guests they’ll have safe resources while they’re away from home.

It’s also a good opportunity for hotel brands because hoteliers can partner with delivery services to list on-site restaurants and maximize revenue.

3. Strive for Fresh Options

Hotel management teams can also invest in consistently popular diets focused on lifestyle changes and not weight-loss tips. For example, the keto diet is a long-term solution for maintaining health needs. Keto fans might get sick of eating greasy bacon, peanut butter, and coconut oil-based recipes, so strive for fresh options that appeal to their needs.

Use ingredients that guests don’t usually find at surrounding hotels. People who prefer keto-approved food can eat nutritious fresh lobster if the meals avoid off-plan ingredients like carbs and sugar. Innovative meal planning, like adding lobster to on-site food options, will expand a hotel’s 2021 customer base because it’s something other properties haven’t invested in.

4. Partner With Sustainable Companies

The hospitality sector has become more focused on sustainable changes than ever before. Travelers want to know that they can uphold their personal beliefs while they’re away from home. Partnering with eco-friendly food companies will prove the property’s commitment to green business practices, resulting in more bookings.

In the next year, 73% of travelers intend to book with an eco-friendly hotel, which means spending money with proudly sustainable brands. Companies that produce reusable serving containers and sustainably raised meat are just the start of how hoteliers can transform their culinary amenities into green alternatives.

Listen to Guests

Paying attention to these upcoming food trends will increase hotel revenue well into 2021. Guests will appreciate the thought put into their needs and interests, resulting in return bookings and positive reviews.

Related article: 4 Simple Food and Beverage Lessons for Hoteliers

Credit

Kacey Bradley is the blogger behind The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us. Along with writing for her blog, she has written for sites like U.S. News, SUCCESS, Guides for Brides, Hotel Online, and more!

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