ITC Hotels partners with Swiggy to offer dining experiences at home

ITC Hotels has implemented stringent measures and protocols, including mandatory temperature checks for all chefs and food and beverage associates

ITC Hotels has partnered with food delivery giant Swiggy, to offer responsible dining experiences to the customers in the comfort of their homes. Based on harmony of fresh and seasonal selections, ITC said this responsible dining initiative brings back the taste of familiar flavours. Swiggy will enable ‘no contact’ deliveries on all pre-paid orders, which involves a delivery partner leaving the food at the doorstep rather than an in-person exchange.

“In keeping with the current requirements, special training programmes are being conducted and precautions for personal, social, and workplaces are being explained to all associates for awareness and practice,” said Anil Chadha, COO, ITC Hotels. “We are re-engineering our guest experiences with zero and low associate engagement (including digital ordering and e-payment solutions). The partnership with Swiggy will assist us in responsibly delivering our unique culinary experiences using their advanced distribution network,” he said.

Crafted with care at ITC Hotels and handled with utmost hygiene to ensure wellbeing, ITC said the mindfully curated menus will bring unique food experiences with local offerings from the region for diners across all major cities in India.

ITC Hotels has implemented stringent measures and protocols, including mandatory temperature checks for all chefs and food and beverage associates. Moreover, the special take-out counter at each ITC Hotel has been enhanced with hand sanitizers and thermometers to corroborate the health parameters of local food delivery partners.

It may be recalled that ITC Hotels had tapped into the food and beverage take-away model across the country recently. ITC said it received overwhelming feedback from diners for the ‘Flavours’ takeaway (and home delivery) dining experience. The association with Swiggy endeavours to reach a much larger customer base.

“Through our partnership with ITC Hotels, customers can now indulge in curated gourmet dishes from popular restaurants of the ITC Hotels chain across India through the Swiggy app,” said Vivek Sunder, COO, Swiggy. “We look forward to creating unique dining experiences for customers while helping them celebrate special occasions at the comfort of their homes,” he said.

At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted the restaurant and hospitality businesses, many hotels are adopting new technologies and forming collaborations to reach out to the customers and earn their clients’ trust regarding food safety and hygiene.

E-commerce giant Amazon recently announced its entry into online food delivery in India. The firm said it is adhering to the highest standards of safety. Besides restaurant chains such as the California Burrito and Keventers, the firm has partnered five-star hotel chains like the Radisson and Marriott to bring food from their gourmet restaurants.

According to a LocalCircles survey of more than 24,000 responses, about 87 per cent of the respondents said they did not want to visit a restaurant in the next 30 days, due to the fear of catching the virus. It also said about 61 per cent were reluctant to spend on eating out. About 25 per cent citizens say they will order restaurant food once or more via food delivery apps in the next 30 days.