An admittedly cursory look at the website says breakfast is complimentary for all regions except Asia Pacific. It didn't suggest that award stays were another exception. This is consistent with my own experience. I've stayed at an Element several times on award stays and have always received breakfast. In fact, I can't think of any stays at a Marriott hotel family where my perks/benefits, whether for everyone or a status perk, depended on whether the stay was an award stay or paid in cash. I suspect that either your Element was simply noncompliant or the FDC was mistaken.