America’s free hotel breakfast is facing K-shaped economy threat

In the 1980s and 1990s, free hot breakfast became a staple of the hospitality industry. At many Holiday Inns or Hampton Inns, the lobby at 8 a.m. becomes a whirlwind of pajama-clad kids, exhausted parents, and lonely business travelers jockeying for position in front of the waffle maker. Meanwhile, self-serve cereal bars dispense Froot Loops and Lucky Charms, as well as hot plates of endless eggs and turkey sausage under heat lamps. For many people, this type of breakfast is part of the appeal of travel. It continues to exist to this day but faces new economic threats and evolving hotel business models.

Hotels that abandon products like complimentary soap and even bathroom doors Free breakfast to save money is a sacred cow that some concerns cannot survive and is increasingly seen by hoteliers as a money pit eating away at the slim margins of the business. Last year, Hyatt Hotels‘ Hyatt Place brand removed free breakfast from 40 of its businesses. Owned by Holiday Inn IHGeliminated a la carte breakfast items and switched to a buffet-only model; This is a cost-cutting measure that preserves the breakfast buffet offering while also reducing labor and food waste.

Gary Leff, who runs the travel blog View from the Wing and first reported Holiday Inn’s breakfast changes, said the threat to free breakfast should be seen within a broader trend in the hospitality industry for hotel owners to look for ways to cut costs. “This goes well beyond breakfast, to things like cleaning — less frequent during the stay, less thorough when done during the stay — bulk toiletries instead of individual mini bottles, and eliminating items like alarm clocks in rooms,” Leff said.

Despite the staying power of free breakfast, the math never worked out from a business perspective, according to Curtis Crimmins, founder and CEO of boutique hotel concept Roomza. “This was a loyalty play, a loss leader aimed at increasing sign-ups, repeat bookings and increasing brand loyalty. I argue that when free breakfast becomes an expectation rather than a benign moment of ‘surprise and delight,’ its days are numbered,” Crimmins said. he said. “Looking for evidence of this slow death in your average Holiday Inn Express breakfast area? Look no further than the recent explosion of ‘Grab and Go’ options. This is no coincidence,” he said.

Offering meals to a more affluent clientele, as in the case of Hyatt Hotels, can give operators more latitude to eliminate breakfast, Leff says.

A Hyatt spokesperson said the company is “testing breakfast options at select Hyatt Place hotels that offer guests the ability to book rates that do not include breakfast.” Most Hyatt Place hotels in the US continue to offer complimentary breakfast to all guests.

Evaluations continue. “As part of our commitment to providing value to our guests, including World of Hyatt members, we continually evaluate breakfast options that best serve our guests and hotels,” a Hyatt spokesperson said.

Hyatt hasn’t released data on the trial, and many guests are likely assuming breakfast will be free when booking at this point, Leff says. “It remains to be seen whether Hyatt can get away with not serving limited breakfast,” he said.

Luxury has been a bright spot in travel in the current economy, where high-income consumers lead the spending. Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano describes the hotel business as emblematic of the K-shaped economy that is currently attracting so much attention. “There are fluctuations and some uncertainty in the economy, but we continue to see the consumer prioritize travel and experiences,” Capuano told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” last week following its latest earnings. “Luxury was really a highlight for us,” Capuano said, adding that 10 percent of Marriott’s portfolio is in the luxury class.

Marriott has made breakfast changes at some luxury locations abroad. For For example, Regis Macao has eliminated free breakfast for Platinum, Titanium and Ambassador loyalty members as of March 2025, replacing it with bonus points or discounted breakfast. Some Reddit users shared this month that complimentary omelets were eliminated from Marriott’s breakfast bars and are now part of the paid full breakfast buffet, but a Marriott spokesperson said this is not a company-wide policy and that individual hotel operators will make that decision if true.

The majority of travelers expect free breakfast

Consumer fragmentation is leading to bifurcation of breakfast models; While high-end customers gravitate toward paid eggs benedict and homemade croissants, middle- and lower-income consumers fill the free buffet.

Of course, Americans love hotel breakfast. According to the 2025 J.D. Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Survey, the majority (78%) of guests who enjoy hotel food and beverages during their stay eat breakfast at the hotel. Of that 78 percent, only 8 percent is paid, especially in upscale hotels where the trend has taken hold.

J.D. Power hospitality practice leader Andrea Stokes said data shows guests continue to consider breakfast an important part of their hotel stay. “This rate is even higher in limited-service upper midscale and midscale hotel brands, where complimentary breakfast is often part of the hotel brand’s standard offering,” Stokes said.

When J.D. Power asked upper midrange and midsize hotel guests to rate the importance of hotel features or amenities, nearly half (47%) rate free breakfast as a “must-have” (vs. just a nice-to-have).

While large chain hotels can offer economies of scale, free breakfast can account for roughly 5% of total revenue, with labor being included, the figure is closer to 6-7%, says Mitchell Murray, CEO of the Station House Inn and three other boutique hotels in Lake Tahoe, Calif. “This is a significant cost and many operators are asking the question: ‘Does free breakfast really generate 5% more revenue or bookings?’ In most cases the answer is no,” Murray said. He added that when breakfast is free, the quality often drops; Think mediocre coffee, watery eggs, frozen potatoes. “It’s edible, but it’s rarely memorable or provides added value,” Murray said.

One of Murray’s properties is the Holiday Inn Express, which he will transition to a standalone hotel this year and plans to eliminate free breakfast after the change once he is freed from corporate mandates. Major hotel brand franchisors have specific brand standards that franchisees must adhere to, and this includes food and beverage standards.

But Best Western has no plans to pull the plug on its waffle maker. “Offering free breakfast is an important part of our guest experience across much of our portfolio,” said Larry Cuculic, CEO of the hotel chain. “Free breakfast for travelers simplifies accommodations, delivers meaningful value, and influences booking and loyalty decisions, especially in the midscale and upper midscale segments,” Cuculic said. he said.

Cuculic says the economics still make sense: Breakfast drives guest satisfaction and repeat business; By leveraging the buying power of its extensive hotel network, Best Western can help hotels manage costs while maintaining quality and consistency, “making breakfast both a friendly touchpoint for guests and a driver of long-term loyalty,” he said.

Holiday Inn Express is also located next to the free breakfast bar. “Breakfast plays a critical role in our value proposition and remains a key reason why travelers choose to stay with us—it’s something they know, trust and expect from our brand,” said Justin Alexander, vice president of global brand management, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites & Candlewood Suites. he said.

How will changes to the hotel menu affect travel planning?

Hotel breakfast plays a part in Aimee Misovich and her family’s travel planning. The Holland, Michigan resident said his family is Hilton Honors members. “So we always stay at their properties — usually Embassy Suites, Homewood or Hampton Inn. All three still offer free hotel breakfast,” Misovich said, adding that he likes the variety offered.

“Homewoods started offering overnight oats and chia pudding. I eat the latter as well. Other times I just have a bagel with cream cheese or a sausage roll in a bagel as some sort of breakfast sandwich,” Misovich said. He added that quality may vary from facility to facility, but the breakfasts are still attractive.

“I definitely hope Hilton keeps their free breakfasts! After all, they’re not actually ‘free’; I’m sure they’re reflected in the room rates somehow,” Misovich said. He also noted that the foods he eats for hotel breakfast are foods he rarely eats at home, “so it’s a treat for me when I’m traveling.”

Food and beverage offering can be a key differentiator for limited-service hotel brands, even if it’s just for breakfast service. “Any hotel considering scaling back or eliminating free breakfast should focus on demonstrating its value in other ways,” Stokes said.

Rita Chaddad, a professor at Columbia Southern University who teaches courses in tourism and hospitality management, predicts that free breakfast will continue to be eliminated at luxury brands but will remain in some form elsewhere, but travelers should expect more changes to come.

“Breakfast will probably continue, but the model may become more fragmented,” Chaddad said. In upper midrange environments, hotels may be more willing to offer breakfast through credits, optional add-ons, or targeted engagement (e.g. packages or loyalty benefits). “At these tiers, hotels may have more flexibility to replace ‘free’ with other forms of perceived value, provided it is communicated well and the guest feels the trade-off is fair,” Chaddad said.

But he added that most mid-range hotels compete on simple, face value, and breakfast is one of the clearest signals of that value, so eliminating it entirely would risk a backlash. “Removing it could create a perceived loss that could outweigh operational savings, even if the hotel’s overall cost structure improves behind the scenes. For value-oriented travelers, breakfast is often interpreted as part of the ‘deal,’ and losing it can complicate the guest’s mental math when comparing properties,” Chaddad said. he said.

Hotels will increasingly play around with their offerings, Chaddad said, and beyond higher-end hotels, travelers should be on the lookout for new models emerging as breakfast-included options instead of just room, breakfast offered through packages or loyalty benefits, or other reimagined formats that control costs while keeping benefits visible to guests. “This shift may be less about eliminating breakfast and more about adjusting who gets it, how it is delivered, and how clearly it is priced or packaged,” he said.

Although some of these changes increase a hotel’s profitability, they can also impose additional emotional costs. “My kids and I would be really upset if they gave up the free hotel breakfast. That’s part of the fun of traveling,” said Joanne Peterson, who lives in East Tennessee.