Is Hotel Coffee Finally Getting Better?

Coffee in hospitality service has come a long way since Ace Hotel first partnered with Stumptown Coffee. The coffee industry widely greeted this series of collaborations as a good thing, a sign of the industry maturing and hospitality businesses recognizing how travelers’ amenity desires have evolved. Yet here we are at the end of 2025, and for the most part, coffee lovers still find ourselves MacGyvering the hotel drip coffee maker or pod machine to churn out decent hot water.

Travel coffee options have considerably improved over the last decade. It’s no longer only the Hario hand grinder that fits perfectly in the AeroPress. We’ve got specialty instant coffee, lots of hand grinder options, or, for the dedicated, a portable espresso solution like the ones from Flair Espresso, which come with their own carrying case.

When traveling, it feels like a letdown when a hotel is seemingly all-in on its food and cocktail options but relegates its coffee to a pod machine. Much like coffee in Michelin-starred restaurants, hotel coffee is all too often an afterthought, not a feature to brag about. But statistics are showing a promising trend: a report from Business Research Insights predicts that the global hotel and resort coffee market will reach US$165.32 billion by 2033—this year’s valuation is at an eye-popping $97.71 billion. It also cites the US Travel Association’s report of 75% of global hotel visitors find a unique coffee carrier as a key amenity, with 60% of these guests choosing lodging that sources from local roasteries.

In Seoul, Hotel Drip&Drop goes far beyond most hotels: coffee is in its name and a distinguished partner in everything it offers to guests. From the minimalist lounge area to the coffee drip bag and kettle in rooms, the entire experience has been designed to showcase Korean coffee culture.

Drip&Drop offers both capsule units (beds among other beds) and rooms. The hotel intentionally partners with four local roasters for retail bag purchase and collaborates with FourB to create its signature blend in a drip bag. Room guests receive complimentary drip bag sets, and capsule guests can make their own cup in the shared lounge. Equipped with a grinder, scale, kettle, and drip bag, specialty coffee fans won’t need to carry their own travel set. Of course, if guests don’t feel like brewing their own coffee, batch brews are available to them.

“We chose coffee instead of cocktails or tea because we wanted our guests—90% of whom are international travelers—to have a truly local Korean experience,” explains Sooyeon Kim, brand strategy director at LOG Hotel Group, which owns Drip&Drop. Coffee plays a significant role in everyday Korean life, with Koreans drinking it all day. This hotel concept has proven successful so far, she says, with two more locations planned next year.

Cleia Junqueira, general manager at The Coffee Connoisseur Collective and a consultant, notes that the pace of change in the coffee industry has been slow when compared to other parts of food and beverage. She works with hospitality clients to design unique coffee experiences for guests, including curated pairing sessions, custom signature drinks that reflect the property, and in-room rituals. Of all these, Junqueira says that the pairing sessions are “transformative” and rewarding for both parties. “The effect is twofold: guests are surprised and delighted by the complexity of coffee, and the property gains a distinctive, memorable experience that feels both educational and luxurious.”

This attention to unique experiences aligns with consumer trends of buying from product companies that prioritize values, quality, and intentional sourcing. She notes, “Today’s travelers are increasingly conscious of ethical sourcing and sustainability, and a strong coffee program gives hotels the opportunity to connect with them on that deeper level.”

Personally, I think the bar for hotel coffee is so low that even having a batch brew available from a local roaster seems worthy of mentioning. Complimentary parking? Nothing to see here. Drinkable coffee that can stave off a caffeine headache? Celebrate and tell a friend. A custom coffee flight pairing with local pastries? I don’t know what I would even do here…write about it?

Dis-loyalty, a travel and food membership program that was launched by the luxury hotel group Ennismore in 2023, is banking on this kind of exploratory traveler. At $216 a year or $18 per month, your membership buys you benefits at any of Ennismore’s global properties and brands, plus (among other things) a daily free cup of coffee, which is “a nod to folks who literally work near one of our hotels or coffee shops,” says founder and Co-CEO Sharan Pasricha in Fast Company. “Post-Covid, we’ve seen a huge shift in folks traveling further away, staying longer, and doing a lot more. They are reassessing what’s important to them, and they want new adventures.”

Intentionally designed with UAE culture and the local art scene in mind, Hotel Indigo Dubai Downtown created Open Sesame, a concept inside the hotel’s dining restaurant. “Coffee isn’t just a beverage, it’s a ritual, a connector, and a storyteller,” PR & Marketing Manager Ines Encarnacao tells me. “While cocktails and tea have their own charm, coffee has the power to bring people together from morning through evening, in conversations that often turn into collaborations.” For its coffee program, Hotel Indigo tapped local businesses Cafe Rider and B612.

On International Coffee Day and as part of its efforts to engage with the community, Open Sesame held a brewing competition for nearby baristas to showcase their skills. When done right, Encarnacao notes that a great coffee program is weaved into every facet of the guest experience and for Hotel Indigo, coffee “represents how we tell our story: locally inspired, artistically curated, and made with intention.”

Junqueira agrees that a successful program needs to be consistent and fully integrated, and explains, “This kind of curation and theater is what takes coffee from a ‘nice touch’ to a defining luxury moment.”

If you’re like me—someone who plans trips around interesting coffee spots—you might as well stay at a self-proclaimed coffee hotel. Earlier this year, Rotterdam-based Man Met Bril Koffie opened the “world’s first” coffee hotel, complete with a residency program for coffee professionals. I’m not sure what constitutes a “coffee hotel” (do boutique hotels at coffee farms not count?), but what differentiates Man Met Bril Koffie’s hotel from Drip&Drop is that the company was first a roastery-cafe for a decade before embarking on the hotelier journey.

All said, I hope the trend of luxury coffee experiences in urban hotels spreads and becomes the average experience. Me? I still plan on packing some packets of specialty instant coffee in case of emergencies.

Jenn Chen (@thejennchen) is an Editor At Large at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jenn Chen on Sprudge.

All photos courtesy of the subjects