Tag Archives for breakfast.
A buffet actually interested in preventing spread of germs would make single-use tongs available to each guest. Use the tongs, deposit them for disinfecting once you’ve served yourself. But the goal isn’t preventing spread of germs, it’s conforming to (1) health codes, and (2) social convention.
Within North America, Autograph Collection hotels are required to offer an amenity choice of restaurant breakfast (resorts) or a food and beverage credit (hotels). And Marriott has a cash guarantee that hotels will honor this.
The Muir Autograph Collection in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada says no elite breakfast, and that Marriott corporate has exempted them from the elite benefits guarantee. According to Marriott customer service there are no standards, “each hotel has its own policies and offerings.”
The brand new St. Regis Chicago wasn’t offering Marriott Bonvoy Platinum members breakfast as they’re required to. They claimed that their restaurant was operated by a third party, and this got them out of the obligation. This all was addressed quickly, in just a couple of days.
In the meantime, however, there were a flood of consumer reviews of the property on TripAdvisor – most of which were very bad (and likely fake).
Several changes that have been made to the IHG One Rewards elite benefit terms and conditions. These have been published to their website, but they haven’t otherwise told anyone about them which always strikes me as a poor practice.
Marriott offers complimentary breakfast at most of its brands to Platinum elites and higher. Hoewver they don’t really say what breakfast means. And some hotels have figured out that the terms and conditions of the Bonvoy program don’t actually define ‘complimentary’ so they interpret it to mean “charged to the customer, but just for less money.” The Tribute Portfolio Royal Palm South Beach Miami is one of those hotels.
Marriott Bonvoy offers breakfast to Platinum members, but the benefit is confusing. At Courtyard hotels in North America and Europe it’s actually a choice between 500 points (total for the stay) or a $10 food and beverage credit (x2 for two guests registered to the room) that can be used any time of day – not just in the morning.
But as I’ve documented extensively, hotels seem to do what they want with impunity, published benefits of the Bonvoy program notwithstanding. One customer found this out when the hotel called the cops after they asked for their $10 credit – and when it was refused they invoked Marriott’s guarantee of $50 cash for having the benefit denied.
Before the pandemic one of the American Airlines breakfasts on regional jets was a smoked salmon plate. American’s regional jets don’t have ovens in the galleys so it was a perfect meal to serve cold. I always thought that it was a better choice than an egg dish with sausage on mainline.
In the fall I had a smoked salmon plate on my Los Angeles – Honolulu flight. I was thrilled at the choice, but there was no tomato and I was given a miniature bagel. I’ve often criticized American Airlines for failing to pay attention to the details. On this flight they’d really figured it out.
Fairfield Inns in Japan will offer breakfast boxes instead of hot breakfast.
Marriott has been looking to reduce costs for hotels providing breakfast and they think they’ve found it for their extended stay brands.
On July 1, 2021 Hilton replaced breakfast as an elite benefit at U.S. hotels with a daily food and beverage credit. This was temporary for 2021.
The concept is amazing (use the credit for a meal other than breakfast, use the credit for room service) but the amount was too low and didn’t cover the least expensive items in major cities. At some hotels it wouldn’t even cover a cup of coffee with tax if you tip (which is expected).
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
