The use of plastic is probably a geographical thing - the US uses plastic in ways other countries don’t. I was shocked to find the canteens of a leading Fortune 50 company I worked with all used plastic plates and cutlery!

I can see the big picture from the Marriott side: in room food eating is increasingly de-coupling from hotel provision and so it makes sense to enter that market early to prevent competitors from stealing share. The trouble is (as often) if you don’t properly understand your customer segmentation you have someone ready to pay $50 for a nice steak with silverware and instead gets an $8 burrito in a box.