It took me a LOOOOOONG time to get over the feeling that I was doing something stupid/wrong by NOT eating the provided breakfast in such a motel/hotel/inn. It was only after figuring out that the cost of a room at such places rarely exceeds the cost of rooms at comparable places that don’t offer a free breakfast that I got over the sense that I was being fiscally wasteful skipping the breakfast.
Having said that, I love eating at most Hampton Inns; the rotation usually includes both the super-salty sausage patties and the paper-thin unlimited bacon. Two out of three mornings clogging my arteries is always worthwhile. When they add in the option of a nice cheese omelet, several different danish/pastries and unlimited cranberry juice, I’m all over it.
Unless I can go out and get a really good breakfast somewhere else locally.
I grew up working as a breakfast cook at a restaurant that was attached to a hotel. It was a family place, not a chain. No free breakfast. Maybe because it was a resort town with mostly family owned places (and an abundance of restaurants) I don’t think anyone offered free breakfasts.
I am not much of traveler or spender. I’m frugal and a breakfast person. I would rather eat a good breakfast than any other meal. I have only stayed in 2 hotels in the last 7-8 years. They were both Embassy Suites. They offered very good breakfast, IMHO. There was a buffet but you could also order things like made to order omelets. They also had “free” happy hours and other cool amenities. I would not classify them as a cheap place but they were inexpensive. I didn’t see anyone in the lobby in pajamas but you can see that at every grocery store or general store in my area.
Yep. Here, we deduct the meal if it is provided at the conference, etc. But I don’t know that we go as far as to research each hotel; it’s more of an honor system that you would deduct any provided meals.
Yes. Lifting it to see a massive pile of link sausage.
Last hotel I stayed at was in west Queens and had a free breakfast. It proved convenient for the girlfriend and me to get some cereal, bacon/eggs and they had one of those waffle things… before we walked to one of the nearby subway stations to head into Manhattan for the day.
We use the Defense Travel rates. You get a check before leaving that covers your hotel, rental car, meals and incidentals. When you get back, you turn in receipts for your hotel and rent car to show for the major expenses. Meals and incidentals, no one wants to know. I think they figured out that it was far too costly to pay someone to review roughly 2000 meal receipts a month in a world of no separate checks. You get your $37 and how you spend it is your business. Much simpler.
That’s a great idea, but $37 a day for meals and incidentals? That can’t be right. The Canadian rate was closer to about $70 USD per day.
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$37 a day? I got the idea from the Defense Travel website that they use GSA rates for the continental US , and those start at $51 a day for meals and incidentals
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Why?
Isn’t the reason you would hire a manager to instruct staff and enforce company policy?
That’s exactly what she was doing.
FTR, the Canadian government and all crown corporations budgets are under constant media and public scrutiny. All too often, there’s a front page scandal involving politicians, departments and/or government agents overspending, illegitimate expense claims, travel costs, unnecessary service costs, etc…
I agree with this. I used to travel on a DoD contract all the time. If the hotel supplied “free” (included would be a better word) breakfast, that’s eight or nine bucks of my per diem that I get to keep rather than spend. Even if the hotel cost a tad more, as long as it was under the upper limit, nobody cared.
The County I work for used to do that. Here’s your check for x amount of days out of town. Do with it as you please.
I saw it as x amount of dollars for the in-convenience of being away from home. I think that’s how it should be seen. Not $11 for breakfast, $20 for lunch or whatever silliness.
Now, we have credit cards and have to watch how much we spend on them, and keep receipts (the credit card statement should be the receipt). And god help you if you have a beer with dinner. Oh, dear, that must go on a separate check that you pay for out of your own pocket. It’s childish.
That’s certainly my attitude and that of most of my coworkers. We get an hourly allowance. Leave home base on Tuesday at 10am and get back on Friday at 8 pm that’s 14+24+24+20 = 82 hours * $X/hour = $Y. Whether you eat it, drink it, gamble it, or pocket it is your choice.
I forgot to reply to this thread a while back and no one seems to have covered it.
The main reason this continental breakfasts seem universal is that they are directly required to get higher ratings from groups such as the AAA
As an example a two diamond rating requires at least:
Some chains or branded properties like courtyard line has a “Bistro” to meet the AAA requirements while also matching other rating systems to hit their target market.
Basically it is a requirement to even get your facility listed and or rated.
This is why even placement on properties of lets say La Quinta being next to a restaurant like Dennys in a regional basis will still have minimal service.
I am not arguing that there is not a population of customers that need or want these services but the primary driver is meeting the requirements for particular rating systems. The cost of having minimal continental breakfast service is much lower than failing to meet AAA ratings even if the food often goes to waste.
Price difference in hotels with and without free breakfast — None
they generally all fall into the same price brackets.
Continental breakfast = 3 day old stale sweet rolls and luke warm brown water labeled coffee.
I would not actually want the rolls if fresh, that is not breakfast.
The places that have an actual breakfast are not bad.
Usually have milk juice coffee tea various cold cereals, a hot cereal like oatmeal or grits, rolls eggs bacon toast and a table to sit at.
And all you have to do is walk down stairs.
It isn’t the Waldorf Astoria, but it also did not cost $675 per night
Free breakfast is a way to fill rooms on off nights. It is probably popular and doesn’t cost too much to do.
Sometimes it is a gluttonous mass of pastries and carbs. Sometimes it includes fruit and toast, juice and cereal. Unlimited bacon has some appeal, but if you’re talking smoked salmon than the game is on.
