Free breakfast is a common feature of many hotel brands, especially in the limited service category. You’ll find it at Hampton Inn, Best Western and Holiday Inn Express among numerous others.
Here’s the thing: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hotel actually check that you’re a guest before giving you access. If you look like you belong there, you can park in the lot, walk in, and eat.
In the fall I stayed at the Aloft near Dallas Love Field and selected breakfast as my Marriott elite member amenity. Breakfast was served in the Element hotel next door. I simply walked into that hotel and no one checked that I was a guest or eligible for breakfast. I could have taken the elite check-in bonus points and still had breakfast!
In a sense, I’m surprised that so few people show up at these hotels and have breakfast! Then again, maybe people do?
Here’s a woman on TikTok explaining and millions of people have watched this: “They make it so easy to get the free hotel breakfast when you’re not staying at a hotel.”
@itssofeeyuh
What’s more, this seems to be a common meme on TikTok. Here’s two people who showed up at a Drury Inn just for breakfast, eating up eggs and sausage, waffles, juice and more that are meant for guests.
@destinyshaude Lol we just wanted free hotel breakfast 😭🤣 #fypシ #foryoupage #fyp #explore #explorepage #grwm #funny #hotelbreakfast #hotelroom ♬ Players – DJ Smallz 732 – Jersey Club Remix – Coi Leray
Most limited-service breakfasts, though, aren’t going to be so good that you’d show up for it if you aren’t already on premises. But if I was nearby, and hard up, maybe I’d go for a meal justifying it like hero Jean Valjean steals the bread in Les Miserables.
It’s likely that I could get away with this, as a middle-aged white business traveler who knows his way around hotels. I simply feel comfortable in a hotel lobby, like I belong. But if you stand out, and don’t look like someone who stays in the hotel and knows your way around the lobby you might get questions. So a free breakfast hack only for those who don’t need the free breakfast?
Some hotels – notably Hyatt Places – have tried to verify eligibility for free breakfast. Hyatt keeps changing who is entitled to free breakfast, and to which items at breakfast. Though when they made breakfast only for loyalty program members booking direct properties didn’t actually seem to enforce it much.
This is an American thing, one of the few places left where trust exists that exists nowhere else in the world.
In 25+ other countries, I’ve never had a hotel breakfast where I could eat anything without having my name and room verified.
Meanwhile for trust in Germany, you don’t have to worry about pay at the pump. You pump 80 euros of gas immediately and then walk in the gas station, if you’d be so kind, and pay for it. Each country has different ones I suppose
Agree with Justin, this an American thing only….as I live in Europe and travel all over the globe for work, and at any medium to large hotel, particularly the chains…guests are always checked for breakfast, with the exception of the small family run hotels in Europe, where the staff always knows who the guests are
To just show up and eat then leave . Who raised them that way. That’s so low life and tacky. It should be like…hotel guest only with a wristband , or something to identify with.
Many ride share drivers in San Francisco live 2-4 hours away. They come to Bay Area to work and sleep in cheap hotels.
One driver I had was doing an extreme version of this. He slept in car parked in hotel parking lot then help himself to the free breakfast in the morning.
I am usually disgusted at such dishonest behavior. But I ended up tipping him and wrote “I appreciate the hustle.”
It sounds like the behavior of liberal Democrats to me. Anything they can do to get a free ride and scam the system every time!
There are plenty of guests that are entitled to a breakfast, but don’t eat it, either leaving before it starts, or sleeping through it. It all averages out in the end.
Showing off being a lowlife on social media. Way be pathetic and worthless. Your parents failed.
There’s a solution to this situation I noticed this year in Asia. They asked everyone to swipe their room key at the breakfast entrance. It will automatically shown if your room comes with breakfast or not.
We stayed at a La Quinta in San Diego. The breakfast room was in a separate building, not near the front reception desk. One homeless woman came in and stocked up on food. The food staff did not say anything. I think the feeling was that if someone is hungry then let them have some food, especially since the food doesn’t cost the hotel much given the quality of what is served.
They could have done card key access but they didn’t.
Sounds like hotels maybe need to do something to change this sort of thing because if it’s not dealt with them more peoples will take advantage of dining & dashing