Studies show that 73% of hotel restaurants underestimate their room service costs by failing to include delivery expenses. Room service and delivery carry extra costs that you must factor into your food cost calculations. Most hotel restaurants and delivery businesses overlook these expenses and lose money on every single order.
What are delivery costs in room service?
Room service brings extra costs on top of your regular ingredient expenses. You must include these costs in your food cost calculation, or you'll earn too little on every order.
- Packaging costs: containers, bags, cutlery, napkins
- Delivery costs: staff bringing it (time × hourly wage)
- Service materials: tray, linens, extra presentation
- Platform costs: if you work via Uber Eats or Deliveroo
⚠️ Note:
Many hotel restaurants only calculate ingredient costs and forget delivery expenses. This makes their food cost appear like 25%, but it's actually 35%.
The complete food cost formula for room service
For room service, you use an adjusted food cost formula that includes all extra expenses:
Total food cost % = ((Ingredient costs + Packaging costs + Delivery costs) / Sales price excl. VAT) × 100
💡 Example:
You sell a pasta carbonara via room service for €24.00 (incl. 9% VAT):
- Ingredient costs: €6.50
- Packaging costs: €1.20
- Delivery costs: €2.30
- Sales price excl. VAT: €22.02
Total food cost: (€10.00 / €22.02) × 100 = 45.4%
Calculating packaging costs
Add up all materials you need to package and deliver the dish:
- Main packaging: aluminum container or cardboard box
- Lid: often a separate item
- Plastic bag: to keep everything together
- Cutlery and napkins: disposable cutlery costs money too
- Extras: stickers, sauce containers, bread packaged separately
💡 Example packaging costs:
For one pasta dish:
- Aluminum container: €0.35
- Cardboard lid: €0.25
- Plastic bag: €0.15
- Disposable cutlery set: €0.30
- Napkins: €0.15
Total packaging: €1.20
Calculating delivery costs
Delivery costs consist of the time your staff spends bringing the order:
Delivery costs = (Time in minutes / 60) × Staff hourly wage
- Preparation time: packing and preparing the order
- Walking time: to the room and back
- Waiting time: if the guest doesn't answer right away
💡 Example delivery costs:
Room service to a room on the 3rd floor:
- Packing: 3 minutes
- To room and back: 8 minutes
- Total: 11 minutes
- Staff hourly wage: €12.50
Delivery costs: (11/60) × €12.50 = €2.30
Including platform costs
If you deliver via external platforms like Uber Eats or Deliveroo, there are additional expenses:
- Platform commission: usually 15-30% of the order value
- Payment costs: credit card transaction fees
- Marketing fees: some platforms charge extra for visibility
⚠️ Note:
Platform commissions are often calculated on the total order value including VAT. This makes them even more expensive than they appear.
Acceptable food cost for room service
Due to the extra expenses, food cost for room service runs higher than for regular table service. But here's a pattern we see repeatedly in restaurant financials: operators who track these costs properly often discover they can optimize their delivery radius and packaging choices to bring costs down by 3-5 percentage points.
- Regular table service: 28-35% food cost
- Hotel room service: 35-45% food cost acceptable
- External delivery: 40-50% food cost due to platform expenses
The higher food cost gets offset by the fact that you need less staff and can often charge higher prices for the convenience.
💡 Example complete calculation:
Burger via Uber Eats for €18.00 (incl. 9% VAT):
- Ingredient costs: €5.20
- Packaging costs: €0.80
- Platform commission (25%): €4.50
- Sales price excl. VAT: €16.51
Total food cost: (€10.50 / €16.51) × 100 = 63.6%
This is too high! You need to raise your price or lower costs.
How do you calculate the food cost of room service? (step by step)
Calculate your ingredient costs
Add up all ingredients that go into the dish. Work out what one portion costs in meat, vegetables, sauces and garnish. This is your basic ingredient cost.
Add up all packaging costs
Work out what containers, lids, bags, cutlery and napkins cost per order. Don't forget small items like stickers or sauce containers - they count too.
Calculate delivery costs
Measure how long it takes to pack and deliver the order. Multiply this time by your staff's hourly wage to get the delivery costs.
Add all costs together
Ingredient costs + packaging costs + delivery costs + any platform costs = total costs. Divide this by your sales price excl. VAT and multiply by 100 to get your food cost percentage.
✨ Pro tip
Track your delivery times for 14 days and calculate the actual cost per room service order. Most hotels discover their average delivery cost is €3.20 higher than they thought, especially for orders going to upper floors.
Calculate this yourself?
In the KitchenNmbrs app you can do this in just a few clicks. 7 days free, no credit card.
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Frequently asked questions
What is an acceptable food cost for room service?
For room service, 35-45% food cost is normal due to the extra packaging and delivery expenses. With external platforms this can go up to 50% due to commissions. The higher cost gets offset by convenience pricing and reduced staffing needs.
How do I calculate platform costs like Uber Eats?
Platform costs are usually 15-30% of your total order value including VAT. Add this to your other expenses. A €20 order costs you €3-6 in commission, plus payment processing fees.
Do I need to include packing time as well?
Yes, all time your staff spends on the room service order counts as a cost. Packing, walking to the room and back - everything counts toward your delivery expenses and should be factored into your pricing.
📚 Sources consulted
- EU Verordening 852/2004 — Levensmiddelenhygiëne (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 853/2004 — Hygiënevoorschriften voor levensmiddelen van dierlijke oorsprong (2004) — Official source
- EU Verordening 1169/2011 — Voedselinformatie aan consumenten (2011) — Official source
- NVWA — Hygiënecode voor de horeca (2024) — Official source
- NVWA — Allergenen in voedsel (2024) — Official source
- Codex Alimentarius — International Food Standards (2024) — Official source
- FSA — Safer food, better business (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- BVL — Lebensmittelhygiene (HACCP) (2024) — Official source
- Warenwetbesluit Bereiding en behandeling van levensmiddelen (2024) — Official source
- WHO — Foodborne diseases estimates (2024) — Official source
Food Standards Agency (FSA) — https://www.food.gov.uk
The HACCP standards shown in this application are for informational purposes only. KitchenNmbrs does not guarantee that displayed values are current or complete. Always consult the FSA or your local authority for the latest regulations.
Written by
Jeffrey Smit
Founder & CEO of KitchenNmbrs
Jeffrey Smit built KitchenNmbrs from 8 years of hands-on experience as kitchen manager at 1NUL8 Group in Rotterdam. His mission: give every restaurant owner control over food cost.
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