Wyndham Rewards is introducing an Applebee’s integration into its program and mobile app and they are describing it as ‘redefining room service’. Okey dokey. They do say the partnership allows food delivery directly to your room, which for many might be better than meeting the DoorDash driver in the hotel lobby.
Now while a Wyndham Rewards member is staying at one of their properties, Applebee’s delivery fees are waived on orders of $15 or more.
- They’re also offering 10 Wyndham points per dollar on the orders
- And new Club Applebee’s members get 2,500 Wyndham points on their first order
They say there are more than 1,100 Applebee’s within 5 miles of a Wyndham property in the U.S. Which I guess makes this the equivalent of La Quinta being Spanish for ‘next to Denny’s’.
Comparing it to traditional room service but saying that there’s no delivery fee makes no sense. There’s also no tray or trolley.
Then again many hotels have eliminated that as well, and just drop off a brown paper bag with food inside. And at many mid-level hotels the room service isn’t any better than Applebee’s.
Obviously this is a marketing partnership where Applebee’s is gaining access to Wyndham guests. You do earn Wyndham points for the charges. I guess whether this has any value at all comes down to whether you want to eat Applebee’s and there are some towns where there might not be better options for delivery.
Most Wyndham hotels aren’t offering much in the way of room service anyway, so this seems like a win to me. It certainly is “redefining room service”, though whether that’s a good thing is debatable. But the corporate BS speak does amuse me. Still, the fee waiver does seem to make this a somewhat reasonable option for some.
“Okey dokey,” indeed… Gary, maybe add an “artichokie,” or an “easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”
I haven’t been to an Applebee’s or ordered room service (and most stays it isn’t an option) this century. I imagine this deal is a great addition if the hotel has no room service. I imagine this might still be a better option if this replaces room service given the quality of room service at many hotels. Are there any Wyndhams that have room service a step better than Applebee’s?