Coffee is one of those things hotel guests notice - especially when it’s bad. But a hotel isn’t a cafe, and what works in one doesn’t always work in the other. Different spaces in your hotel need different approaches, and getting this right makes life easier for your staff and better for your guests.
Here’s how we’d think about it.
The lobby or lounge
If you’re offering coffee in a lounge or lobby area, a bean-to-cup machine is usually the best fit. They’re self-service (or easily operated by front desk staff), they grind fresh for each cup, and they can make espressos, americanos, lattes, and cappuccinos at the touch of a button.
The key considerations: choose a machine that’s reliable, easy to clean, and can handle the volume you expect. A busy hotel lobby might get through 50–100 cups a day. The machine needs daily cleaning (the milk system especially) and weekly deep cleans.
For the coffee itself, you want something crowd-pleasing that works well with milk. A smooth, medium-roast blend is the safe bet. It’ll keep most guests happy without being polarising.
Breakfast service
Breakfast is where volume matters. If you’ve got 80 guests coming through in a two-hour window, you can’t make each cup individually on an espresso machine (unless you’ve got a dedicated barista, which most hotels don’t).
Commercial filter machines are the workhorse here. They brew a full jug quickly, keep it warm, and anyone on your team can operate them. Pair them with good coffee - our filter sachets make this even simpler, with pre-measured portions that remove any guesswork.
Have a filter machine for regular and one for decaf. Label them clearly. Add a pot of hot water and a selection of teas alongside. That covers most of your guests.
If you want to offer espresso-based drinks as well, a bean-to-cup machine alongside the filter setup works well. Guests who want a flat white can use it; everyone else can grab a filter coffee and get on with their morning.
In-room coffee
This is the trickiest one. You need something that’s easy for guests to use, easy for housekeeping to restock and clean, and that still produces a decent cup.
The options, from simplest to most involved:
Sachets and a kettle. Individual filter coffee sachets with a kettle in the room. It’s the most affordable option, easy to restock, and the coffee quality is much better than those instant sachets. Include a couple of regular and a decaf. Pair with proper mugs, not paper cups.
A cafetiere. A step up in experience. Leave a cafetiere in the room with a couple of sachets of coarse-ground coffee. Some guests love this - it feels more personal and the coffee is better. The downside: housekeeping has to clean them properly each day.
Pod machines. Nespresso-style machines are popular in higher-end hotels. They’re convenient, consistent, and guests know how to use them. The ongoing cost of pods is higher, but the experience is polished.
Whichever route you go, keep the offering simple and clear. A card explaining what’s there and how to use it saves confusion. And make sure the quality matches the rest of the hotel experience - there’s no point having beautiful rooms and terrible coffee.
A few things people overlook
Water quality. Hotels often have hard water, which affects taste and destroys machines over time. A water filter on your main coffee equipment is a worthwhile investment.
Decaf. Always offer it. A significant number of your guests will want it, especially in the evening or in-room. It shouldn’t be an afterthought.
Tea and hot chocolate. Not everyone drinks coffee. Make sure your tea offering is decent (not just dusty teabags from a cash-and-carry) and consider hot chocolate too - guests love it, especially in winter.
Staff training. If you’ve got a bean-to-cup or espresso machine, someone needs to know how to maintain it. Daily cleaning, restocking beans, and basic troubleshooting should be part of someone’s job description.
We supply a lot of hotels across the UK and we’re happy to help you work out what’s right for yours. Give David a call - he’ll talk you through the options based on your size, your budget, and what your guests expect.