I'm at the Marriott in North Bethesda, MD, and ordered a sandwich so I could keep working in my room until the conference started in the afternoon.
The woman on the phone said, "I need to let you know, it's a $5 delivery charge."
I said that it sounded high, $2-3 is more typical, and she replied that I could avoid the charge by picking it up myself at the hotel restaurant. I said, "If I was willing to walk down to the restaurant, I'd eat it there," and then ordered my food to be delivered, grumbling. Yes, my company is paying for it, but I still want them to get good value from me. It came pretty quickly, but when I opened the door, there's a guy there with a paper shopping bag, who just hands it to me like it was Jimmy Johns (who doesn't charge $5, but my issues with them are another show). Inside is a cardboard box that unfolds into a sort-of-plate, plasticware, and a fast food-style plastic cup with my ice water.
With hotel-inflated prices plus delivery charges, I expect a cloche-covered plate, metal flatware, and someone to lay the order out on a table. The delivery guy did not seem to expect a tip, certainly none was coming from me. Apparently, this "Fresh Bites" program has been rolling out at Marriott for a couple years, and I see notes online that Hilton and others are taking the same approach, saying that millennials don't want those things.
(They're ruining everything, I tell you!)That being said, it was an awesome pastrami sandwich, falling-apart tender, caramelized onions, brown mustard and gruyere. But I won't order it again as room service, because there's no service to the room.
What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
-- Lin Yutang