IHG has its Holiday Inn breakfast manual for managers on the web. It sometimes amazes me what hotel chains leave open and ungated. And there were some fascinating insights in it about guest preferences and also how to get guests to spend more in the morning. 30% – 50% of Holiday Inn guests eat breakfast on property, and they serve approximately 27 million breakfasts per year.
Drawing on Kelloggs research they break guests down into four categories:
- Breakfast skippers: only come into the dining room if meeting someone else
- Breakfast grabbers: prefer grab and go, speed is a prority
- Ham ‘n Eggers will choose the buffet, signature menu items or full meal options
- Breakfast believers always start the day with breakfast but tend to be “the most cost-conscious.”
Holiday Inn has four key service elements:
- Orange juice first. Guests must be approached with a carafe of orange juice to begin.
- Coffee now thermos of coffee offered, with mugs pre-set at the table
- Estimated time of service always tell guests approximate time for their order to be out
- Departure cup and lid guests drinking coffee must be presented with a to-go cup
The estimated time is supposed to be given plus three minutes so that guests aren’t disappointed, and Holiday Inn recommends quoting a range (when 10 minute delivery is expected, they suggest quoting 12-15 minutes).
The reason that orange juice is always offered first is fascinating:
- While perceived as healthy, OJ is often an impulse buy. Guests are more likely to buy if they can have it right now. Visual cues (such as a carafe of juice right in front of guests) are especially helpful in promoting impulse buys.
- By contrast, coffee is almost never an impulse buy. Most adults (about 55%) drink coffee with their breakfast. Coffee drinkers will order coffee no matter what; non-coffee drinkers will not be tempted by even the most effective suggestions.
- Orange juice is the single most effective way to increase the breakfast guest check and, in turn, your restaurant’s profits.
That’s why servers are instructed to “[a]lways take beverage orders before water is served (if water is served automatically). Doing so will help keep guests from simply defaulting to water and thwarting your juice sales.” Incidentally, a large juice in the U.S. is 12 ounces. A large in Canada is 14 ounces. Holiday Inn offers suggested scripts to sell the juice and even a section of their guide “The Art of Suggesting.”
If you’re ordering eggs, you want to order them “up” or “over” because then whole eggs are used. For other dishes, like omelets and scrambled eggs, “[w]e require use of a pasteurized liquid egg product.”
Restaurants are allowed to use thin-cut bacon on their buffets, but for menu ordering must use thick cut.
Servers are required to be empowered to “exercise the Hospitality Promise during the breakfast meal period” (waive charges, if required) without checking with a manager.
One caution Holiday Inn offers to franchisees against offering a buffet is that their employees “can easily pocket cash from cash buffet sales.” They also have 12 suggestions on how to manage buffet cost, including “[e]liminat[ing] juice and/or coffee from your buffet offering” so that hotels can charge separately for those.
Never, never drink OJ, or any other fruit juice. Loaded with sugar and calories, and expensive. Waste of money, calories, and space in your stomach that can be filled with nutritious food.
Gary, “morning matters” is a retired program – and long ago actually. The link to that file actually pointed out it was a 2014 version. But you are right, the hotel chains really have no control on leaked insider information other than putting “proprietary information, do not share” on every document – which obviously didn’t stop any colleague from sharing. And in this case, the file was simply on a public website that everyone can access.
@ LAX Tom — 100% agree. Haven’t had OJ in a decade.
@ Gary — Absolultey, always order fried eggs.
Charging you for sugar filled orange flavored juice. way to go america.
Disgusting not using fresh cracked eggs
I will never be a customer ever!
“They also have 12 suggestions on how to manage buffet cost, including “[e]liminat[ing] juice and/or coffee from your buffet offering” so that hotels can charge separately for those.”
Wait, what? Are there any breakfast buffets that charge for those drinks? That just screams incredibly cheap, even for a Holiday Inn. I’d imagine that guest satisfaction would tank. “I paid $30 for the buffet but got charged an extra $10 for coffee and juice.”
Liquid egg, sugar laden oj from concentrate… paper thin bacon.. it’s holiday inn. What were you guys expecting? Hyatt. Hilton or Marriott.. it’s all same for their lowest tier limited service properties.
I drink coffee almost never (like maybe an espresso with Tiramisu) after a nice dinner with friends and I agree with the coffee observation.
Orange, grapefruit, pineapple and apple juice, usually do not have added sugar and are probably more nutritious than even black coffee. Yes they have naturally occurring sugar and carbs.
Cranberry always has added sugar unless it is mixed with apple or other fruit juice.
I drink a lot of fruit juice and and plain water and have read a lot of labels on the containers. I drink zero sugary sodas and have been at the same weight for years. I disagree that fruit juice is not a healthful choice (Healthy is an adjective used to describe something as being in good health. Healthful is an adjective used to describe something as health-giving or causing health.)
I have tried OJ at many hotels, both foreign and domestic, and I cannot recall ever drinking OJ that tasted like it had added sugar. I actually find the OJ on planes and at hotels a little more bitter than Simply or Tropicana and more like Minute Maid which has always tasted somewhat bitter. I don’t see how adding sugar to a juice that does not require it would reduce the cost of the product. jmo.
“Orange, grapefruit, pineapple and apple juice, usually do not have added sugar”… because they are so high in sugar to begin with that there’s no need to add more. Orange juice spikes the glycemic index and stimulates the appetite. More hunger = bigger order = more spending.
It’s just one more way that hotel chains and other large corporations in the food space view customers as nothing more than consumers to be fleeced.
TAH
Probably true for some, but I would say more for people who are prone to overeat already. I am not disagreeing with you completely, but I usually eat the same amount of food whether I order water or juice and do not notice a difference. We are all different so YMMV OFC.
There have been many studies on this topic, and many have come to the conclusion that it’s not just how much glucose we consume it is also whether it is processed or natural. Here is a recent study on OJ and food intake.
The glycemic response over 60 minutes was higher after 100% orange juice and orange drink consumption than the water (control); however, it was lower when corrected for grams of available carbohydrates.
Previous studies have suggested polyphenols can influence carbohydrate digestion and absorption in the gut by inhibiting digestive enzymes, e.g., alpha-amylase, attenuating the glycemic response, and 100% orange juice has high polyphenols content.
Another important observation was that the source and composition of the beverage and the time to the next meal determine short-term FI regulation.
Thus, 100% orange juice and water consumption resulted in lower lunch and cumulative FI (food intake).”
Again, not disagreeing with you, but we all need calories to live and the source of the calories is very important. I know very few people who drink black coffee all the time and I see some add way more sugar than is needed, or consumed, in a glass of natural fruit juice.
Again jmo.
I thought all holiday inns had free breakfast???? Am I missing something?
@Sexy_kitten7, Holiday Inn EXPRESS has free breakfast.
I’m disappointed; where’s the post belittling breakfast eaters. And, what is this idea of quoting real scientific research?
Charming. No wonder I steer clear of IHG hotels.