When you think of popular room service meals in Asia Pacific, you might guess a rice- or noodle-based dish would top the list. But, after a long flight or exhausting day of meetings, luxury travelers aren’t reaching for the hyper-local or experimental. Instead, the most-ordered item is the humble hamburger, according to a new report.
Featuring survey findings from 270 food and beverage hotel teams across the region, Marriott International’s 2026 Future of Food study found that the burger accounts for 33% of room service orders.
“In today’s fast-paced and unpredictable world, travelers are increasingly seeking comfort, familiarity and convenience — especially when dining in-room after a long flight or a busy day,” said Petr Raba, vice president of Food & Beverage, Marriott International, Asia Pacific excluding China. “The burger delivers on all fronts: it’s satisfying, customizable and universally loved.”
Raba said that when J.W. “Bill” Marriott Jr. took over as general manager of the first Marriott hotel in Arlington, Virginia, he put it on the menu, understanding that beloved classics like the burger would make travelers feel at home. And the sandwich remains a room service staple in all Marriott hotels.
Of course, the hamburger has evolved with the times. “One burger you absolutely have to try at The Roof at The Singapore EDITION is the mouthwatering Tokyo-Seoul Smashed Burger,” Raba said. “It’s a flavor-packed creation with a rich miso-black garlic aioli, paired perfectly with crispy furikake fries.” Over in China, Five-Star The Ritz-Carlton, Guangzhou serves a popular patty that blends wagyu and porcini mushrooms and comes with a black truffle and mushroom sauce.
Rounding out the rest of the top in-room meals are rice dishes like biryani at 20%, followed by the club sandwich at 17% — British race car driver George Russell celebrated his recent F1 win in Singapore with a stacked club sandwich and fries in a poolside daybed at Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore. Then there’s pizza at 12% and pasta at 9%.
The data aligned with the report’s big trend of diners returning to comfort food overall in restaurants and bars. Raba pointed out that in Asia Pacific, comfort food also includes local favorites, with nasi goreng (Indonesia and Malaysia), chicken rice (Singapore), biryani (India), pho (Vietnam), Japanese curry (Japan) and bibimbap (South Korea) ranking among the top room service dishes in their respective countries.
“This blend of global and local comfort foods highlights how guests seek both emotional connection and culinary creativity,” Raba said. “The burger’s popularity is part of a wider movement: comfort food is being redefined to include both international classics and beloved local dishes, each offering a sense of familiarity, indulgence and cultural resonance.”
For a more in-depth breakdown of each country’s room service preferences, see the below chart:
