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I love me a good breakfast for dinner, or lunch, and sometimes in between! Basically, I am the ideal customer for all day breakfast establishments. The all day breakfast trend is not new and many restaurants and fast food chains have developed menus to align their profits with the shift in eating trends. Hotel restaurants on the other hand, have been stuck in a time warp. We have seen hotel chains build brands around millennial sensibility but continue to peg breakfast with traditional time restrictions.
I would argue that most hotel restaurants serve more customers at breakfast than they do at lunch or dinner. As a hotel guest, even if I do not have breakfast included in my rate or as elite benefit, I am more likely to purchase a breakfast meal over a lunch or dinner. By offering all day breakfast menu, hotels would cater to the road warriors and leisure travellers alike, who may not have adjusted to new time zones or those that simply choose to roll out of bed at noon. This Globe and Mail article captures how Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) like McDonalds have adopted aggressive all day breakfast strategies to align with millennial eating habits.
Andaz hotels within the Hyatt portfolio are my favourite because of their non-traditional approach to breakfast benefit, limits and timings. For example, Andaz Ottawa offers a-la-carte breakfast menu until 1pm (weekends)!! Andaz West Hollywood offers both buffet and a-la-carte options until 11am, everyday. Andaz 5th Avenue on the other hand does a-la-carte breakfast but restricts breakfast benefit to one entree, juice and coffee per person. These are simply examples of hotels that adopt different approaches to the traditional breakfast offering, without committing to the all-day-breakfast model. I wonder what it would take for them to simply drop the time restrictions and maintain an adapted breakfast menu through the day. By doing away with the traditional buffet breakfasts, hotels may also see an end to customers that try to eat 3 meals at breakfast before exploring town. How about an elite breakfast benefit that can be used any time of the day?!!
Everyone values a breakfast meal differently, while a business traveler maybe looking for a grab-and-go breakfast (sandwich/wrap etc.), a leisure traveler may prefer a sit-down meal. An a-la-carte breakfast menu will cater to both groups and all day breakfast model would allow the business traveler to indulge in a well made omelette even after a tough day’s work. An all day breakfast menu can also help hotel restaurants position themselves to a new market share – the external customers (non-stay)!
The key to this change will be flexibility in service, which begins with recognizing guests’ need and the changing eating trends. My hope is that hotels can do away with buffet breakfasts, rigid timings, and bring in a-la-carte all day breakfast menus. I am tired of their random breakfast deadlines.
Are you an all day breakfast kind of person?
4 comments
So, basically, Denny’s. Not « new” or “milennial focused”
Why denny’s? Why not starbucks or model after other “hip” and chic establishments? No judgements on denny’s. In fact denny’s style brekfast would be an upgrade dor many north american hotels restaurants 🙂
Lodging establishments are a business and have to focus on costs. There are costs involved in running an all day breakfast, even more so if it is not self service. Since many of us do compare costs when booking the establishment can not offer an extra that may impact their price and bookings.
Point taken. My argument is that these establishments have never broken the mold and tried something non-traditional. Their clientele is changing rapidly and while quick service restaurants have been able to adapt, hotel restaurants have languished.
It dosen’t need to be the traditional breakfast, maybe adopt a menu that is both price sensitive and offers patrons choices beyond sit down, time restrictive meals. Nothing wrong in offering smoothies and breakfast sandwiches (all day) during weekdays and revert to traditional brunch timings over weekends – just an example. And I don’t mean this just for people with breakfast amenity, but also as a way to reach out to external customers.