The Wyndham hotel company announced this week that it is "launching a new service that gives guests easy access to grocery delivery, bringing groceries straight to guests' doors with the help of Instacart and Peapod."
The company says that the service, which is being tested at eight of its Hawthorn Suites properties in various markets, is said to be "the brand's newest offering developed to help long-term guests maintain their routines when away from home. It's the latest addition to Homemade @ Hawthorn, the brand's in-room, chef-driven cooking program designed for hotel living serving up seasonal, home-cooked recipes from award-winning chefs which can be easily prepared in a fully equipped in-suite kitchen. With just a few clicks ... guests at the pilot hotels can easily find and order all of the ingredients for their favorite Homemade @ Hawthorn recipe, or their most-wanted grocery items, and have them delivered straight to their hotel."
The company says that the service, which is being tested at eight of its Hawthorn Suites properties in various markets, is said to be "the brand's newest offering developed to help long-term guests maintain their routines when away from home. It's the latest addition to Homemade @ Hawthorn, the brand's in-room, chef-driven cooking program designed for hotel living serving up seasonal, home-cooked recipes from award-winning chefs which can be easily prepared in a fully equipped in-suite kitchen. With just a few clicks ... guests at the pilot hotels can easily find and order all of the ingredients for their favorite Homemade @ Hawthorn recipe, or their most-wanted grocery items, and have them delivered straight to their hotel."
- KC's View:
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What this suggests to me is that there is an opportunity here for supermarkets to create relationships with hotel chains - especially those like Extended Stay and Residence Inn that cater to long-term guests. These folks are perfect targets for grocery delivery programs, and what Wyndham is doing is establishing a funnel that will benefit all the participants.
