Revenue 6 min read
Room Service Menu Descriptions That Sell: A Guide
How to write room service menu descriptions that sell: ideal length, ingredients, origin, portion size, allergens, plus good and bad example lines.
Allergens and diets
The 14 EU allergens on every dish, in every language
EU regulation 1169/2011 requires hotels to inform guests about 14 allergens in the food they serve, room service included. Roomtray puts that information next to each dish, so the guest can check it before ordering instead of calling the kitchen.
- EU allergens
- 14
- diet filters
- 3
- languages for the key
- 26
How allergens appear in the menu
Each dish shows small numbers for its allergens, the way many printed menus do. The key with all 14 allergens sits at the bottom of the menu, in the guest's language. A guest with a nut allergy who reads German sees "Schalenfrüchte", a guest who reads Czech sees "Skořápkové plody".
You select allergens from a fixed list when you edit a dish. Because the names are not typed by hand, they are always translated correctly, in every language of the menu.
The 14 allergens
Cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, lupin and molluscs.
Diet filters
Mark a dish as vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free, and the guest can filter the menu by it. A vegan guest at 22:00 sees only what they can eat from the kitchen that is still open, without scrolling through the whole menu.
Your responsibility stays clear
The kitchen knows the recipes, so the hotel enters the allergens and keeps them current. When a recipe changes, change the dish once and every language updates. The menu shows a short note that guests with severe allergies can ask the staff, which the regulation also expects.
Does the hotel menu have to show allergens?
Yes. Under regulation 1169/2011, information about the 14 allergens must be available for food served to guests, including room service. A digital menu is an accepted way to provide it.
Who enters the allergens?
The hotel, when adding a dish. You choose from the fixed list of 14, so translations are always correct.
Can guests filter by diet?
Yes. Guests can filter for vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free dishes marked by the hotel.
Are allergens included in the free plan?
Yes. Allergens and diet filters are part of both plans.
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