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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?
Just finished my free hotel breakfast. For the first time, there was a tip jar next to the buffet. No need to seek out the worker.
A good “free breakfast” is a win-win. A good breakfast helps shape a guest’s positive experience and builds loyalty for a hotel, and it can offer a good breakfast at a low cost because it has economies of scale.
But a guest also benefits from a good “free breakfast” even if it is paid for indirectly. I always found the breakfast time at a hotel to be a great time to get a solid start, and to eat nutritious food instead of the inevitable later mid-morning snacks. It is a great place to discuss or resolve one’s final plan for the day when on vacation, and even on some business trips. It is one place where you bond rather than argue on vacation. You also save time running out and looking for something acceptable elsewhere, especially if you have a few people in your party.
You also will tend to know what you will order (or grab from the buffet) every day in advance, since you know from day 1 what you like that is on the menu and what the hotel puts out on the buffet. This works for cruises, too.
However, even if a breakfast has a separate charge, it may still be useful to pay, since the value to a hotel guest can more than offset the cost.
(On the other hand, a breakfast of powdered eggs, rubbery bagels, bad coffee and half-stale pastries will make one think less of a hotel, and lead to a different choice for a place to stay in the future.)
Good point about not having to go find breakfast. There is a cost to that too. I like mid range hotels that have free breakfast. I find it strange that higher end hotels like Hiltons don’t offer free breakfast.
Hilton? Higher end? Not the ones where I have to stay.