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In economics, they say there are no free lunches. How about a free breakfast?
Some hotels are quite happy to serve up a continental breakfast or much more. Now that summer vacation is in the rear-view mirror, here’s how I came to find those breakfasts rather satisfying even if they aren’t truly free of cost.
Before we head out on the road, I tend to research hotels and their prices for what I think is the best overall value. I look for good reviews, a nice mix of amenities, location, and price. By price I mean the nightly room rate plus the fine print stuff too: resort fees, parking, and other charges.
Having done my due diligence for this year’s family road trip, I found a sparkling new hotel that I thought represented a great value. After I shared my findings with my spouse, she asked: “There’s no free breakfast?”
Hmm. I always appreciate it when breakfast is included in the price, but the lack of that little perk now seemed like a deal breaker. I replied: “I’d like that, too, but isn’t that just a marketing gimmick?”
“Maybe, but breakfast for four each day adds up,” she noted. “Can you find a place that includes it?”
Got it. I worried, though, we might get less hotel for the same price because the breakfast is wrapped up in the room rate. There must be a tradeoff of some sort.
I looked at my second choice for lodging. The price was similar, but breakfast was included. It wasn’t the brand-spanking new hotel I had set my sights on, but we had stayed at the place once before and were quite satisfied. I booked the room.
Once at the hotel, I couldn’t help but take mental notes about our experiences at breakfast each day. The dining room was a short walk from our room. There was no wait. The food was good and plentiful. Surprisingly, so was the coffee.
We dined with travelers from around the world. Service was provided with a great deal of care and good cheer. And our boys just loved getting creative with the self-service waffle maker.
After breakfast, we could walk back to our room to brush our teeth and put on sunblock before heading off to local attractions for the day.
That convenience really grew on me, and I recognized broader benefits as well. We didn’t have to find a breakfast joint to everyone’s liking each morning. We didn’t have to walk or drive to and from a restaurant. The result: Breakfast at the hotel saved our family about an hour each day, adding considerable value through convenience and time savings.
We also can factor the cost of breakfast into the full room rate when comparing hotels with and without breakfast included. For our family of four, that breakfast might run $55 or more each morning at a coffee shop. Here’s an example:
In this illustration, free breakfast saves us at least $45 a night on top of the convenience and time savings mentioned above. Now that’s what I call an egg-cellent deal!
Do any other HumbleDollar readers enjoy the allure of a free breakfast when traveling?
Problem is eating out for breakfast in US can easily run $20-30 per head plus tip so the value of a free breakfast soon adds up. Plus the convenience of just walking down to the lobby and the all you can eat buffet nature means you can fuel up well for a day on the road or doing active stuff and be away 45 mins earlier.
Fun topic. Personally, I love a “free” hotel breakfast — it saves the hassle of getting organised and leaving the complex. It also appeals to my frugal side: I tend to go big at breakfast, which means I can skip lunch (bar a bit of fruit) and just pay for a proper evening meal instead. Bonus: I enjoy that dinner even more, since I’ve actually got an edge to my hunger by then.
I’m of two minds on this one. I like hotel breakfast if it’s a good one, but I also like enjoying a local cafe. We’ll lean to the hotel breakfast if we (1) know it’s particularly good, or (2) know we’ll be crunched for time or tired and just want to have it taken care of. Otherwise will go check out a local place.
I agree it’s a great convenience and usually a good value as well.
We’ve stayed several times at a big hotel in the Rio Grande Valley where my wife is from, and it includes an entire On the Border restaurant inside. The free breakfast is so good and hearty that lunch isn’t even necessary!
DJ, who doesn’t like a free breakfast!
Every now and then I read about a gun fight breaking out at a value priced hotel, especially when located in an urban area. So our first criteria is that the hotel is nice enough to discourage violent guests. That usually means that we will be spending more money. After that we check Trip Advisor reviews, looking for highly rated places. A free breakfast is icing on the cake.
On our recent road trip we stayed at a Drury Inn, which not only provided a nice breakfast in the morning, but also appetizers and two free cocktails for each of us from a full bar in the evening. Imaging the fun your kids could have had!
We keep it simple. We have traveled from one end of the country to the other always staying at a Hampton Inn, full breakfast included. When traveling we usually book one night ahead.