Uber Eats is testing food deliveries to the airport gate
On-demand dining app Uber Eats has started trialing food deliveries to gates in Toronto Pearson airport's Terminal 3, to ensure time-pressed travellers don't go hungry.
The first of its kind in the world, the initiative will take place in partnership with restaurateur HMSHost, which cooks meals at its restaurants for people in both the international and domestic departures areas.
Using the Uber Eats iOS iPhone or Android app, travellers can order (among other dishes) burgers, burritos, shawarma, shepherd's pie and fish and chips from the likes of Caplansky's Deli, Paramount Fine Foods, Smoke's Burritorie, Smashburger or Fionn MacCools.
Marcus Womack, head of global airport products at Uber, says: "Uber Eats' partnership with Toronto Pearson is a perfect example of how our platform is creating unique experiences in unexpected places, beyond rides. We're making the dining experience a more convenient part of travel, in one of the world's most innovative airports, one meal at a time."
Neil Thompson, vice-president of operations for HMSHost, says: "HMSHost is committed to finding new ways to enhance traveller dining and Uber Eats brings convenience for all guests when they choose to dine with HMSHost.
"We are very excited about partnering with Toronto Pearson and Uber Eats to expand the amenities we offer and to providing passengers with an elevated guest experience through delivery service."
The Uber Eats pilot is scheduled to run until the end of the summer, and is available at gates B22–B41 and C30–C36 in Terminal 3.
Uber Eats is an on-demand food delivery app and website that helps bring millions of people around the world the food they want, at the tap of a button. At the moment it partners with more than 200,000 restaurants in 350 markets across 36 countries.
The death of room service: food delivery to hotels
Food delivery to hotel rooms is also taking off, as guests shun expensive room service in favour of the likes of Uber Eats, Deliveroo, DoorDash and GrubHub, which present far more value and variety than on-site hotel restaurants ever could.
Globetrender was recently at the Nobu Hotel in Shoreditch, which offers room service from its Nobu restaurant, but was amused to see a Deliveroo driver handing a bag of Wagamama to one of the reception staff. This sight is going to become a lot more common but savvy hotels shouldn't fight it.
An article on Hotel News Now reads: "Hotels that partner with outside food-delivery services – which may include making menus available in guestrooms, or even tying partnerships into loyalty programs – see it as adding value and convenience for the guest.
"So while not a direct source of revenue for the hotel, these services contribute to the overall guest experience, hopefully making it easier for guests to plan a return stay."
In the last couple of years, both Hyatt Centric and Intercontinental Hotels Group have partnered with GrubHub, but others are sure to follow.