While occupancy rates remain low throughout most of the world, hotels have still had to grapple with the implications of the pandemic on room service.

This has been all the more important for those guests quarantining in hotels and relying on room service for up to 14 days.

For a large hotel, sanitising physical menus and phone handsets in every room has become a big overhead.

This has led to many hotels adopting digital room service menus - accessed via QR codes and therefore not requiring app-download by guests.

Products such as Scan4Menu allow guests to scan a QR code in their rooms and electronically transmit their orders. Digital menus eliminate the sanitising overhead - but they bring several other advantages.

These include, amongst others, saving on printing costs and staff time answering calls, eliminating misunderstandings (eg “no chilli please” - which can be handled digitally in notes) and the ‘repeat previous order’ feature.

While coronavirus has forced many hotels to turn to digital room service menus, it does seem this practice is something likely to continue beyond the pandemic.