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What’s for breakfast? More and more hotels are answering that question with new and improved food offerings. And why not? It’s popular.
Getting breakfast influenced the choice of hotel for almost half of leisure travelers, and 53 percent of business travelers, according to a recent YPartnership study. The survey also found that almost two-thirds of business travelers found a hotel that includes breakfast in the rate was “very” or “extremely desirable.”
“I think there’s general agreement that breakfast of some sort is a core component of any hotels offering at this point,” says Ken Greene, Group President of Wyndham Hotel Group and president of Days Inns Worldwide Inc.
“That’s been happening over the last five or six years but I think in the last three years, there’s been a concerted effort by brands to standardize their offering,” he adds.
In Europe, some offering of food in the morning has been expected of hotels for decades. “In this country, we first recall Hampton Inns started the trend in the mid-1990s,” says Tom Belden, a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
There’s general agreement that Belden was right: Hampton Inns is apparently the first major chain to start offering free breakfasts.
"Hampton was the first major hotel brand to introduce and popularize the free breakfast," says Phil Cordell, senior vice president-brand management.
In 2001, the company announced its “Perfect Start Breakfast,” a new program that included high-quality branded food products, new food presentation layouts and special items such as a new “PerfecTouch” beverage cup by Dixie Cup that turns cool with cold beverages and warm with hot beverages.
Wyndham Hotels and Resorts are among hotel chains rolling out a new breakfast program. This one is called “Fields and Sun.”
“Wellness is a big focus for Wyndham this year and we anticipate that this initiative will drive business along our core Gen X and Boomer guests,” says Evy Apostolatos, Wyndham’s director of national communications.
She says the program is a complete overhaul of the past and is geared towards health-conscious guests.
The new program includes higher quality ingredients such as organic hot cereal and Bear Naked-brand granola (known for no sugar and no trans fats); a minimum of eight fresh cut fruit selections and berries and a freshly made fruit salad; a cereal and yogurt bar with low fat honey yogurt and toppings such as dried cranberries, dried apples and wheat germ; freshly-baked muffins on the premises, including a fat-free option; made-to-order scrambled eggs, omelets and waffles (no chafing dishes with pre-made eggs) and freshly-made smoothies.
“All Wyndham properties are also required to offer free coffee service starting at 7 a.m. seven days a week,” says Apostolatos.
Some major chains are emphasizing their “special dishes.” The Express Start Breakfast Bar at Holiday Inn Express promotes its “exclusive” cinnamon rolls. “Created with the finest cinnamon and other quality ingredients, and topped off with the perfect amount of frosting, our cinnamon rolls may very well be the best you’ve ever tasted,” says Jennifer Tolchin, who does public relations for the chain.
Sue Morgan, vice president of food and beverage of Holiday Inn Express and several other brands, views offering breakfast as an important service for hotel-goers.
“It’s one the most important meals of the day. We also found from focus groups that some items such as coffee are particularly important to offer,” she says.
Holiday’s coffee is also politically correct. It is certified by the Rain Forest Alliance which guarantees fair wages and benefits, including educational, for its workers.
That chain, along with others, has in recent years been in sync with the general public in offering healthier options. The quality is also a factor.
“Our research indicated that people did not just want breakfast, they wanted more upscale items,” she says.
Interestingly, some hotels such as Holiday Inn that have free breakfast areas also keep their restaurants open for that meal. Some guests obviously don’t mind paying extra for their meal.
“It’s a matter of choice with different circumstances. There are times when a businessman might want just a quick bowl of oatmeal before going off to meetings, while a family might want to sit down and have a more leisurely meal,” says Morgan.
Jill Woods, who oversees sales at the Country Inn & Suites Indianapolis-North, says she has noticed the healthy and varied options emerge in recent years.
“We’ve noticed more demand for a greater variety, more filling food, and healthy options,” she says. Breakfast at the Country Inn include make it yourself pancakes and waffles, individually packaged cinnamon rolls, Danish, fresh fruit, yogurt, oatmeal, bagels, three cereal choices, English muffins and sliced bread. Also offered: Three varieties of juices, coffee/tea and hot chocolate.
Hotel guests know what they want, she says. “There is a definite trend in what guests expect and they are not timid about letting you know what you can improve,” says Woods.
The hotel added several items to its breakfast that were directly requested by guests. But the choice sometimes will depend on the nature of the guest. Some hotels have devised special programs to promote breakfasts.
The Marriott Courtyard chain is offering a “Free Breakfast” rate on Fridays or Saturday nights through Sept. 2, says Lisa Cottrell, sales manager of the Indianapolis branch.
“Guests can choose omelets and eggs cooked to order from the menu or help themselves to a quick and easy breakfast buffet,” she says.
In catering to the health conscious, the buffet also includes fruit, yogurt, oatmeal or cereal.
Some hotels that are not luxury-minded such as Apple Core in New York City continue to upgrade and offer more variety, says Vijay Dandapani, COO of the five hotels in New York.
“We just upgraded. We used to have bagels, donuts and pastries, but we’ve added free Cappuccino, dried fruit, a variety of breads and the drink Red Bull,” he says.
Whether or not a hotel offers a free breakfast, food remains important. And some chains such as Days Inn and Ramada that don’t have onsite restaurants often have a mart on site where guests can purchase a variety of foods, says Christine DaSilva, who handles public relations for the chain.
Could this concern for food take an unexpected turn such as free lunch or dinners at a local hotel? Probably not, answers Greene.
“The aspect of offering free breakfasts in the morning is associated with when guests check out. It’s hoped that it will be one final reminder of the great service and wonderful, comfortable experience they had,” he says.
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