A cart carrying food and drink orders to the rooms in a hotel must deliver its precious cargo safely and without delay. Consequently, the owner or manager of a hotel should pay close attention to the features of a cart before adding it to the team. Discover five features a hotel room service cart must have in order to serve its purpose.
Ability to Carry Several Pounds
Oftentimes, a room service cart must carry a dozen or more pounds to the various floors in a hotel. Along with food and drink, the total weight on a cart includes plates, glasses, pitchers, cups and bowls. In order to be useful, a hotel room service cart must be able to carry this amount of weight without tilting or moving excessively slowly down a hallway. A hotel manager or owner should never have to worry about a cart dumping its contents in the hallway on the way to a guest’s room.
Quiet Wheels
Some hotels have 24-hour room service. This means some room service deliveries are made late into the night. Quiet wheels on a room service delivery cart prevent it from disturbing other guests who are asleep. So, the cart and its contents can roll past rooms of sleeping guests without squeaking, squealing or making other annoying noises. Plus, the cart can maneuver in and out of an elevator and other small spaces without creating any unnecessary noise.
Smooth Maneuverability
A useful hotel room service cart should be easy to move around and propel to its destination. A room service waiter pushing a cart must enter and exit elevators, move around corners and pivot around to get out of guests’ rooms. Having pneumatic casters that swivel can be very useful on a cart that moves throughout a hotel with many twisting, turning hallways.
Easy to Clean
A hotel room service cart must endure spills, piles of dirty dishes, crumpled napkins and more. A busy room service cart may need to be cleaned several times a week or even daily. A quality cart should be easy to clean with mild soap, water and a soft cloth or sponge. After all, every hotel wants to have room service carts that look their best every day. Owning carts that are easy to clean can save time allowing employees to complete other more important tasks.
A Sturdy Handle That’s Easy to Grip
A hotel room service cart should have a no-slip grip allowing a waiter to maintain control of it at all times. Some carts are used several times a day by different employees. A no-slip, sturdy grip is a must-have for a cart that travels a lot of miles throughout a hotel.
Finally, a room service cart should suit the needs of the hotel it is used in. For instance, a hotel with small, narrow hallways needs a team of carts with dimensions that suit the space. Alternatively, a larger hotel can handle carts that are bigger. The size of the hotel, the number of guests and the depth of the room service menu should all be taken into consideration when choosing new room service carts.