Paying for breakfast
 

Am I the only one who really resents it and refuses to see the value?

I will happily pay $100/head for dinner, but try to charge me $25 for breakfast and I will run screaming out the door (to the nearest bakery).

I guess it's all the hotels offering 'free' breakfast, but basically if a hotel's breakfast is more than a few dollars I will try to avoid it (if my wife will let me).

There is no value to twenty five dollars for a couple of eggs.

Unless the hotel is in the middle of nowhere and there are no other options near by I never pay that amount for breakfast.

They charge that because so many people don't care about the price and are willing to pay it.

I get it, if it's perhaps a buffet, smoked salmon, eggs benedict, and a mimosa or 3.

But otherwise, no.

Nothing better than a great brunch, and I'm certainly happy to pay for a high quality one, but it's something you only do maybe once per year if you're lucky. Eggs cooked perfectly, prime rib, fresh fruit, hot breads, fluffy waffles, mimosas, maybe some live music and some sort of chocolate fountain. Over eat on every different type of food, have a few morning casuals, take a nice nap, and wake up for football... Now I'm hungry.

A lot can be seen just by looking at the costs of the ingredients. A good steak can run $10+ at the grocery store while a couple of eggs costs about a quarter. Breakfast should be cheap.

Has nothing to do with value and everything to do with market.

A lot of business travellers don't care because they get reimbursed so whether they spend $2.50 or $25.00 is of no consequence and others who may be wealthy simply don't care. Then there are some # of kettles who can't really afford it but also figure it just is what it is so they order, eat and pay.

There are also people who are afraid to venture out, so they just eat where they're staying. Personally, I enjoy venturing around a bit.

A hotel I used to frequent in Minneapolis had this "they'll pay for breakfast" all figured out. Same price as all the other mid-range hotels. The others all advertised "free breakfast", which the business traveler could expense. The "smart" one charged for breakfast, but gave away evening drinks (which many people can't expense). They were always booked solid.

That approach absolutely works for business travelers who are compensated on actual, allowable expenses. That's some, but not all business travelers. Those who are provided a per diem allowance are happy booking hotels with free breakfast. For them a bundled breakfast means more money left to spend on lunch, dinner, or evening drinks, or to keep in one's pocket.

Agree
 

Agree. When I am on business, I get the $25.00 breakfast--you better believe I'm getting it. When I am on vacation, I find the nearest starbucks, bakery, or cafe and eat for less than $5. ^

Given a choice, I almost always defer including the breakfast option. If I'm in London I simply walk around the corner and find the first pub breakfast I see. In the US I have other options by car. I won't pay $25 out of my pocket for a usually crappy breakfast buffet.

Even on perdiem.. staying at a hotel that charges for breakfast doesnt obligate me to eat it, and my perdiem will go much further since a banana and pastry at the cafe or grocery store down the street is going to cost less than an evening drink.

In general, I don't "value" breakfast as highly because its really just something to get through before I can get on with my day. If I'm in a hotel, its likely I'm not lingering over a 2 hour 5 course breakfast (if there is such a thing) because I either need to be working, or I'm heading out sightseeing, or I'd rather sleep some more.

Even on all-expenses-paid, I hate the waste of a €20 breakfast - especially as I'm a coffee-and-muesli kind of guy. I'd sooner have a stand-up coffee and pain aux raisins on the way in than have some overblown buffet.

And as for hotels that don't include it in the rate, but charge you whether you choose to eat it or not... We shall have words.

If I'm in a nice hotel for a few days on business I'll probably get the $25 breakfast at least once, often on morning of departure. If it's a nice buffet with omelette station, good fresh fruit, dairy, bakery, continental options, and most importantly, LOT's of bacon, plus juice & coffee, I find the value acceptable.

On other days, or on personal travel, I might forage locally.

I love a good breakfast but I think that the situation with breakfast charges especially in Europe is really getting out of hand. 28-48 Euros is becoming the norm for a breakfast in European 5* hotels and I think that's just ridiculous. So nowadays I only have breakfast in the hotel if it's included or when there really is nothing anywhere close to go to like IC Berchtesgaden.

So you prefer to be overcharged for dinner but not for breakfast? Interesting....

Why not venture outside your hotel for dinner & breakfast. ;)

I've had some pretty awful hotel breakfasts that would have cost and arm and a leg had I paid for them. However, one thing hasn't been mentioned yet, and that is small children.

Since we've had our little one, 'venturing out' on an empty stomach is much more of an ordeal, and we will either get the hotel breakfast (if either reasonably priced, included in rate or due to elite benefits, or spectacular) or try to get a few simple items and a fridge in our room. Not always possible.

tb

If you're willing to pay $100 for dinner, $25 for breakfast seems like a bargain. :confused:

I only did an expensive breakfast ($20+tax+tip) once. The more recent time was I took a bump in summer 2010 with UA out of SFO & UA gave me a total of $15 in food vouchers plus I was able to use it at the SFO Hyatt. ^ Including a generous tip, I paid a total of $10 out of pocket. It was a very nice breakfast/brunch buffet.

I usually find inexpensive alternatives or just wait until lunchtime to eat. I would prefer a low carb/low starch/low salt meal and it is quite hard to find that for breakfast.

For some people, breakfast is never worth more than 10 bucks, but a quality $100 dinner can be.

Why do you think that's impossible? :confused:

If the foods were the same then, yes, $25 instead of $100 would be a bargain. But the foods are not the same. Typical breakfast fare is scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, bread, cereal, fresh fruit, and juice drinks. There's no reasonable way these are worth $100 per person regardless of what time of day they're served. Even $25 is a stretch at many places considering what they offer.

By contrast, the $100 dinner people are thinking of is most likely fine steak and/or fish, gourmet prepared vegetables, and wine, beer, or cocktails. Serve it at 9am and it's still worth $100. It's not the time of day or name of the meal that counts, it's the type and quality of the food.

Yes. Breakfast is a formality but to many of us a nice dinner is an experience well worth $100 or more

Diners were made to serve a good, cheap breakfast. Sometimes you need to spend $6-8 on some eggs/pancakes/greasy meat/toast etc. to get your day started. However, I will not pay for hotel breakfast ($5.50 for a bagel and cream cheese? No way!) and I can see the resentment there.

And Brunch, now there's a meal worthy of top dollar.

Considering that over the past 25 years, I've always been a stockholder of any company I worked for, I generally resent being ripped off by Hotel F&B charges (for ANY meal) whether or not I or the company I worked for was footing the tab. Charge me $7-12 for a good Breakfast and I'm fine with it, but $25 and I will definitely not be partaking, unless I am having a business meeting at the meal.

I'd pay a certain premium for room service brekkie as do not really enjoy mingling with others first thing in the morning. Also for a traditional and quality oriented British fry up with offal included or then German/Scandinavian/Scottish style fish and eggs plus other condiments.

I don't resent it , but I do find it amusing looking over the prices. Who sits around and decides? I would love to be in on that meeting. Probably a breakfast meeting they can expense.

Hi,

If I am in Las Vegas ( on strip hotels) or disney I do not mind paying $25 for the breakfast buffet ( but that would be my limit for a good buffet) as I would then have a light lunch ( and no snacks in the morning normally) before a dinner buffet but anything more and I would downgrade ( on the places with a la carte the meal itslelf may not be too bad but the coffee and orange juice which I have certainly adds a few dollars to the bill)

Regards

TBS

first no mention of hotels, but then a mention of hotels.

quality and value vary.

I don't travel on business but I can certainly speak.
first it depends on what hotel your staying at whether it's a comfort inn, ramada, sheraton or a Ritz carlton a Marriott court yard or a fancier Marriott.

coffee , cereal, pancakes, orange Juice, toast at a hotel like a Ritz carlton
will cost more than a comfort inn.

But I can understand that 25 dollars for breakfast can be way to much for breakfast in most hotels.

I'm currently pondering a hotel where breakfast will be $35 each for two of us. $210 over the three days seems astronomical! My mother, who I will be travelling with, is a huge hotel breakfast person - she is tiny, but will eat enough at a hotel breakfast to put two linebackers to shame! It keeps her going until evening, so I guess it is worth it for her. This particular one also has cava at breakfast, which is a plus for me, as the days will include a lot of museums I suspect!

This is true to an extent... but I'm also far less likely to be interested in that kind of meal at 9 a.m.

My most expensive meal ever was lunch at a 3* Michelin restaurant ... but they serve pretty much that exact same meal during evening hours for 2 1/2 times the cost. So you can't completely discount that "time of day" contributes to perceived value.

So, where are all the $100 dinner-for-breakfast joints we should be seeing, based on that logic? :p

$25 for breakfast? I am much more budget than $100 for dinner and that would be a very expensive bfast for me.... But then I like a bakery breakfast!

Because value is absolute. That's why an apartment in downtown Manhattan costs the same as an apartment in the middle of Alaska.

I would never knowingly pay $25 for breakfast. If it's not included in my room rate, then I don't bother. Even then, if they're charging say $20 extra over a room only rate, I won't pay it. Far easier to walk a block or so to a 7-11 or similar and buy a smoothie etc for a few $ (unless of course I'm i the middle of nowhere and there's no options and I'm so hungry it leaves me no real choice)
Last time I was in NYC, I went to a deli for breakfast and got a cream cheese bagel and smoothie for around $4. Very filling.

As for paying $100 for dinner, frown on that even more. I can't justify paying something like $20-30 for a plate with a tiny piece of meat, two bits of asparagus and a dribbling of some sauce in a fancy restaurant which they call a main course. Would much rather save $90 and hit somewhere like McDonalds as it at least fills you up.

Well, you see a fair few brunch places that serve your seafood ap, your roast meat main and your puds, for a good deal less than those same ingredients would cost after 7pm.

What does it matter to you if you are the only one? I'm not sure I see a point to the thread.