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Does DoorDash Deliver to a Hotel Room? Order With Ease

Have you ever sat hungry in a hotel, wondering: “Does DoorDash deliver to a hotel?”. In case you ever wondered — yes, they do! Still, there are a few key things to know before placing your order.

Key Takeaways

  • DoorDash can deliver directly to hotel rooms; coordination with the driver and hotel front desk is key.
  • Hotel policies on food delivery vary; upscale/boutique hotels may restrict deliveries, chain hotels usually permit.
  • Communicate with your DoorDash driver for smooth delivery; provide hotel location, room number, and best entrance.
  • Consider hotel layout and policies; meeting the driver outside or in the lobby might be necessary.

Will DoorDash Deliver to a Hotel Room?

Yes, you can get food directly to your hotel room using DoorDash delivery.

You’ll want to communicate with the driver and your hotel’s front desk to make sure you can get your food dropped off at your hotel room. Different hotels may have different policies, and some may not allow the driver past the front desk.

In that case, it’s important to prepare an easy drop-off for your delivery driver so you know where and how to collect the food.

How Do I Know My Hotel Will Allow Food Delivery?

Some upscale or boutique hotels don’t allow food delivery. If you’re staying in a chain hotel, most have policies that allow outside food. Recently, however, an increasing number of smaller hotels have banned outside food.

Hotels are legally allowed to ban food delivery. They often do so if they have their own food establishments, as they want to encourage guests to eat there rather than get cheaper food delivery options.

If your hotel doesn’t have its own food on the premises, it’ll likely allow food delivery. It’s always best to check, though.

To find out whether your hotel has banned it, start by looking at its website. Many will have a specific policy listed online.

If you’re still unsure about the hotel’s policies, ask at the front desk. You can usually call or message them from the comfort of your room to get a quick answer, or head down to the lobby and directly ask the receptionist.

Where Does the Food Get Dropped Off?

Ideally, you probably want to get your food dropped off right at your hotel room door. Unfortunately, not all delivery companies or hotels allow this, so you may need to go to the lobby.

Some hotels ask for the food to be dropped off at the front desk, as it helps to ensure the safety of their hotel guests. You’ll need to pick it up from the lobby area once it arrives.

Another thing to consider is that certain delivery apps have policies that don’t allow their delivery drivers to drop the food off at the hotel room. Lucky for you, DoorDash does allow their drivers to go to hotel rooms, making it easier than ever to get your food without making a single move.

Is it Weird to Have Food Delivered to a Hotel?

Ordering food delivery to a hotel is not unusual or weird. There are several practical reasons for doing so.

Hotels’ dining options might be limited, especially during late hours, or guests might prefer different cuisine than what’s available on-site. Additionally, ordering food like pizza to various locations, including hotels, is a common practice.

For travelers, experiencing local cuisine is an essential part of their journey, and food delivery services provide a convenient way to enjoy local dishes without leaving the comfort of their hotel room.

Tips for a Smooth DoorDash Delivery to Your Hotel Room

Food delivery can get complicated if there’s miscommunication along the way. Follow these few tips to ensure that you, your hotel, and your delivery driver are all on the same page and you easily get the food delivered.

1. Think About Your Hotel Layout

Take a moment to think about the process your driver needs to go through to get to your hotel room. If there’s extra security in the hotel, you may need to meet them in the lobby. Consider the following:

  • Is there easy parking or do they need to know where to park?
  • Will the front desk let them through without checking in?
  • Do they need a room key to access the elevator, stairs, or hallways?
  • Are the rooms easily laid out or will it be complicated to find your room without additional information?
  • Is there a map of the hotel rooms that can be shared?

2. Let Your Hotel Front Desk Know

You’ll want to let your hotel front desk know that you’re getting a food delivery. Regardless of its policies, it’s always best to communicate.

Call the front desk and let them know your hotel room number, estimated delivery time, the company that you ordered from, and your driver’s name.

If they stop to ask your driver any question, or your driver needs to find out where your room is, it’ll make it easier for everyone in the process.

3. Talk to Your DoorDash Delivery Driver

The most important part of ordering food to a hotel room is to communicate with your DoorDash driver. You can do this by finding their messaging information in the DoorDash app.

You should send them a message and let them know:

  • Your hotel location
  • Your hotel room number (double check this, it’s essential)
  • The best entrance to find your room
  • Any special requests
  • Your phone number
  • That you communicated with the front desk about their arrival
  • Your hotel’s policies on food delivery

Although they may already be familiar with this information, or you may have provided it in the initial order, it always helps to double-check with the driver.

4. Keep Your Phone On and Close

If there’s an issue, your driver needs to be able to reach out easily. They may get stuck at the front desk of the hotel and need you to come down. By having your phone within reach, you can solve these issues quickly if they arise.

5. In Case of Issues With Your Order, Communicate

If you do run into issues with your order, try contacting your driver first. If you’re out of luck, and an issue arises where you can’t get your food, you’ll need to contact support. Ensure you have all your relevant information ready before going through with this.

Best Option: Meet Your Driver Outside

If you have already alerted the driver to what you’re wearing and you’re standing outside waiting, it makes their job much more manageable.

They won’t have to find a space to park, which could be far away because they can probably just stop at the curb to make the exchange.

It’s the difference between an interaction that might require a few minutes compared to much more time if they have to park and walk in to find you.

And in the instance that your hotel allows them to bring the food to your door, please tip the driver well for their patience and diligence.

If you can leave the hotel, another option is DoorDash pickup, which allows you to simply place an order ahead of time and then drive to the restaurant without having to wait for a delivery driver.

Things to Consider While Ordering DoorDash to a Hotel Room

Before opting to order food from DoorDash while in a hotel, there are a few important things you need to consider.

1. What DoorDash Delivers

DoorDash can deliver food, groceries, convenience store items, beauty items, flowers, and more. It has a wide range of goods that can help make your hotel stay more pleasant.

2. Where DoorDash Delivers

DoorDash operates in 4,000 cities across the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Australia. The best way to check if it’s in the city that you’re staying in is to directly check in the app. All major cities will have DoorDash services available.

Restaurants only deliver within a certain radius. You can see this on the app if you have your location set. The maximum distance that a restaurant can set is 30 miles, but some restaurants may set a shorter distance. This is due to food safety handling laws.

3. When DoorDash Delivers

DoorDash is a 24/7 service, so you can order at any time of day or night. However, you can only order from certain places during their working hours. Some restaurants may offer delivery for different hours than their regular working hours, as well.

You can find accurate information directly on the DoorDash app. Each place will list its delivery hours.

Places like McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut will be open later in the night if you need a late-night snack.

4. Tip Your Driver

Keep in mind that your delivery driver is going the extra mile to bring food to your hotel front desk or hotel room. Most users will tip their driver anywhere from 10 to 20 percent for bringing their food directly to them.

Tipping should be correlated to how good the service is and how difficult the job is for your driver. If your room is difficult to find or requires extra work, you may think about tipping more.

Alternative Food Delivery Apps That Deliver to Your Hotel

If DoorDash doesn’t have the options you’re after, or it doesn’t service your area, you may consider these other food delivery apps. Keep in mind they may have different policies on hotel room delivery, so you’ll want to double-check those before ordering.

  • Postmates: This service will deliver the food right to your room.
  • Uber Eats: Will only deliver to the hotel front desk. This will require you to track the delivery and then go pick it up once it’s dropped off.
  • GrubHub: Will deliver to your room.
  • Instacart: Will deliver the food to the front desk, and depending on your driver, may also bring it to your room.

If none of these options work for you, consider ordering takeout from a nearby restaurant and bringing it back to your hotel room. It may not be as easy, but you can still enjoy food from the comfort of your hotel.

Food Hotel Policies By Hotel

While some hotels forbid food deliveries, other hotels have partnerships with certain apps. Here’s what you need to know about the most popular hotels and their policies.

1. Wyndham

A selection of Wyndham hotels partnered with DoorDash to offer exclusive access to special deals. This includes free delivery fees and 2,000 points on your Wyndham hotel account. These points can go toward discounted rooms in the future.

You can access these deals at the following Wyndham hotels:

  • Days Inn
  • Super 8
  • La Quinta

2. Hilton

Hilton has a partnership with Grubhub that offers free delivery and access to GrubHub+ for some of its hotel guests. This is limited to specific Hilton hotels, so ask your front desk whether you get this as part of your stay.

You can still DoorDash to your Hilton hotel, as well. There are no exact policies listed by Hilton.

3. Marriott

Marriott allows food delivery but you should make sure you check with your exact hotel, as each one has a right to change their policy.

4. Disney

Disney hotels allow DoorDash drivers to deliver to your room, but you should also know that some hotels offer free delivery from Disney restaurants. It’s worth checking if your hotel offers these deals.

5. Hyatt

Hyatt rolled out a partnership with GrubHub in 2016 that gives their hotel guests exclusive offers. If you’re staying at Hyatt, you can order from DoorDash, but also consider the faster times and priority service that you’ll get from GrubHub.

Wrapping Up

DoorDash once tweeted: “To the dude who just ordered sushi to the hotel hot tub: you’re doing it right. It’s an honor to serve you.”

This platform loves hotel deliveries and they make up a large sector of its business. The only issue you may run into is with your hotel’s policies.

With the help of what you’ve learned, you’ll be eating your Doordash food delivery from the comfort of your hotel room in no time. Enjoy the rest of your stay!

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