Snapdeal co-founder highlights growing trend of hotel guests ordering food from delivery platforms: 'Facts'

A significant number of responses focused on dissatisfaction with the quality of food offered by hotels.

A social media post by Snapdeal co-founder Kunal Bahl has renewed discussion around hotel dining practices and the increasing reliance on food delivery platforms among travellers.

Bahl shared the post on X after coming across an image showing a person walking through a hotel corridor carrying a paper bag of food, which appeared to be from a delivery service. The image resonated widely online, with many users saying it reflected what they regularly observe during hotel stays.

Commenting on the image, Bahl wrote: “Everyone is ordering food in hotels from food delivery apps. Time for introspection for hotels.”

Everyone is ordering food in hotels from food delivery apps. Time for introspection for hotels pic.twitter.com/zpep85VgtI

— Kunal Bahl (@1kunalbahl) January 15, 2026

The post rapidly gained visibility and prompted a broad range of responses from users describing their own experiences with hotel food and outside deliveries.

A significant number of responses focused on dissatisfaction with the quality of food offered by hotels. One user commented, “Hotel rooms are good, I but there food is always bad. Even the top hotels.” Another echoed the view, writing, “all hotels have the worst restaurant.”

See some more reactions here:

And interestingly hotels are fighting back by resorting to bans. — Bangalore Aviation (@BLRAviation) January 15, 2026

This is right outside Sheraton Guangzhou 🇨🇳 Food delivery lockers. • No lobby chaos • No annoyed guests • No stressed staff

Hotels win. Couriers win. Guests win. Simple systems > fancy policies. pic.twitter.com/2DubfSkInJ — abhishek (@abhishek_tri) January 15, 2026

There are some hotels that have a board - No Swiggy/Zomato allowed. People have found a work around for that too - collect it from the door. It's not just about cost but also about variety — Nagraj Baggon (@Nagraj_G_Baggon) January 15, 2026

Others highlighted convenience and personal circumstances as reasons for ordering food from outside. One user shared, “We did this once this time for the very first time! Didn't know we could do this! Daughter wanted pizza desperately so tried.”

Pricing and perceived value also emerged repeatedly in the discussion. A user remarked, “People bring outside food because the food inside is expensive and not worth the quality.”

"90% of the times, I do the same. You can have better food at 1/3 of the price. Most people eat at hotel restaurants only when they have a free breakfast buffet with the booking," a user added.

At the same time, some users noted that hotels have begun restricting or discouraging food deliveries from external platforms. One comment read, “Soon, hotels will prohibit getting food from outside.” Another added, “True. Majority of 5 stars already don’t allow outside food.”

One user wrote, “The 'Captive Audience' model is dead. Hotels used to rely on the fact that you were too tired to leave the room. Delivery apps pierced that wall. Now, the hotel kitchen isn't competing with the hotel across the street, it's competing with every restaurant in a 5-mile radius. And it is losing on both price and taste.”

Another user pointed out that certain hotels have taken direct steps to prevent deliveries from reaching rooms, stating, “After introspection, few hotels decided not to allow entry to the food delivery person.”