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.”
There’s a reason it’s hard to find an Applebees in many American cities these days… Too bad Wyndham ignores this important detail.
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?
A convenient food option at Wyndham, seems to make sense. The fact that you can use the app to order is a nice touch.
Hmm. Chez jfhscott on the East Coast, Applebees is a lesser brand, but in the upper midwest, they up their game a bit. And were I at a Wyndham branded hotel and hungry, I could see ordering from Applebees.
But this generally post covid trend of gods of takeout to hotels is interesting. That much food has to create burdens on properties between added disposal of trash and food caused damage to rooms. I suppose owners have knuckled under, knowing that theu can do nothing about this new nuisance. Rather, it seems owners are trying to make what they can of the trend.
I mean these services are the closest you will get to room service nowadays.
OOOOO, Fancy like Applebee’s
I have to travel to a lot of mid-size towns where I stay at a lot of Wyndham properties, and in those places Applebee’s is the fancy dining option. Just because the majority of you are snobs doesn’t mean it’s a non-viable option and that it’s inedible to you. I don’t mind this as an option.
I consider Wyndham to be the Applebee’s of budget hotels and Applebee’s to be the Wyndham of fast food. Wyndham owns Days Inns, Ramada, La Quinta along with several others in that category. Applebee’s is at the lower end of national restaurant chains. They deserve each other.
Will they have the Oreo shake for breakfast?
It’s a nice touch that they improved the tensile strength of the two-ply for post meal activities
@Sukwinder Dixit — LOL.
I suppose if you want to get technical about it they really are redefining room service, just not in a good way.
If your idea of “fine dining” is Applebee’s, Olive Garden, “Dead” Lobster, Chili’s and the like then, by all means, stay at a Wyndham Hotel. YUCK