TripAdvisor devotees can already browse through thousands of restaurants in cities to which they travel, read reviews of them, and even book a table. And now, thanks to a new partnership between TripAdvisor and delivery.com, those wanting to stay in can bypass the restaurant experience altogether and get their food delivered.
Exact terms of the agreement, which was announced yesterday, weren’t disclosed. Suffice it to say, users can order food from one of delivery.com’s 12,000-plus restaurants without having to leave the TripAdvisor app; they need only hit the “Order Online” button within the app or site.
The TripAdvisor-delivery.com partnership is yet another move by both parties to make delivery as widely available as possible to its users. Last year, TripAdvisor announced a similar partnership with Grubhub, as well as one with Deliveroo. And earlier in 2018, delivery.com announced a partnership with Choice Hotels, who owns brands like Comfort Inn and Clarion, to offer “a room service-like experience.”
Grubhub also has a partnership with InterContinental Hotels Group, who owns brands like Holiday Inn Express and Candlewood Suites, to offer IHG members extra points for ordering via GrubHub.
While the details of this news aren’t exactly unique in the hospitality industry, they do underscore the growing demand for delivery in all manner of settings where food is the centerpiece. Right now, 86 percent of consumers recently surveyed are “using off-premise services at least monthly” to order food.
Of course, all these partnerships just add weight to the argument that hotel room service is officially dying, with many hotels phasing it out in favor of offering more cost-conscious programs or partnerships like those mentioned above. Amazon’s recent move to put Alexa in select hotel rooms might stave off that death a bit, but only if the Seattle behemoth sticks to delivering food from the hotel, not outside restaurants.
I can think of a lot of great uses for a delivery.com-TripAdvisor partnership, from families on a budget at Disneyland to weary conference goers who just need a quick bite before bed. That said, it seems strange to go on vacation to a new city only to hole up in your hotel room and order delivery, even if you can read the reviews beforehand.
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