What are current Hampton Inn breakfasts during the pandemic?
#166
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: San Jose, California, USA
Programs: AS 100K, UA MM, AA MM, IC Plat Amb, Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 3,146
Hampton Inn San Francisco Downtown/Convention Center
I don't often stay at Hampton Inns, so I'm not sure what is typical, but at the Hampton Inn San Francisco Downtown/Convention Center this past Monday the breakfast was a grab-and-go box with a packaged bagel, cream cheese, yogurt, and packaged hard-boiled eggs:
Coffee was available as well.
I don't often stay at Hampton Inns, so I'm not sure what is typical, but at the Hampton Inn San Francisco Downtown/Convention Center this past Monday the breakfast was a grab-and-go box with a packaged bagel, cream cheese, yogurt, and packaged hard-boiled eggs:
Coffee was available as well.
#167
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Nashville, TN
Programs: WN Nothing and spending the half million points from too many flights, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 8,043
It was not a HI, but it may be an indicator for Nashville. When I checked in at a Home2, the front desk clerk said they had just restrarted full breakfast like before. Nashville and five other cities had had more restrictive local rules than the rest of Tennessee, and Nashville was among the strictest.
#168
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 1,131
It's not a HI, but we have reservations at a Homewood Suites in Buffalo over July 4, and I am not expecting to find a similarly meager breakfast as many have found at HIs (especially since NY state says all restrictions won't lift until 70% vaccination rates are reached). Thankfully, family is only 10 minutes away, so we can just have breakfast there.
#169
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Gulf Coast
Programs: Hilton Honors Lifetime Diamond; National Car Rental Executive Elite
Posts: 2,318
Assuming that a mandate exists, it's never going to happen by that time at the bulk of properties. It's hyperbole at this point but truly...you can't offer what you can't staff and you also can't make applicants appear out of thin air. Vicious circle at play now for some time. The staffs that exist and have worked through the pandemic are over worked and stretched as it is. Hilton has no juice in the hiring process. The management companies usually won't allow wages to be increased or benefits to be offered. Jobs that get posted either have no applicants or if by some miracle someone expressed interest, they no show for the interview. At the very least I know at the Hampton where I work, regular pre-pandemic breakfast will not be happening at any point in the near future.
As a traveler, it's frustrating to no end. Hamptons that are 2-3 miles apart will have vastly different breakfast offerings. The meager breakfasts can't solely be blamed on staffing. Parsimonious hotel owners/managers are to blame, too. The Hamptons I frequent are full, and rates are going up. If I'm paying $150/night at a Hampton in a mid-sized city in a low cost of living area, and if the parking lot is full, there is no reason not to have a full hot breakfast. There are Hamptons in Florida that never stopped serving hot breakfasts, some even rolled out new items during the pandemic.
Food, utensils, equipment, and staffing for a 3-hour hot breakfast can't be more than $100 - $200/day. Raise the rates by a buck or two and treat guests to what they expect.
#170
Join Date: Aug 2020
Location: Somewhere in the Mid-Atlantic
Programs: Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 618
Thanks for the additional info. As a manager, I completely understand the staffing woes.
As a traveler, it's frustrating to no end. Hamptons that are 2-3 miles apart will have vastly different breakfast offerings. The meager breakfasts can't solely be blamed on staffing. Parsimonious hotel owners/managers are to blame, too. The Hamptons I frequent are full, and rates are going up. If I'm paying $150/night at a Hampton in a mid-sized city in a low cost of living area, and if the parking lot is full, there is no reason not to have a full hot breakfast. There are Hamptons in Florida that never stopped serving hot breakfasts, some even rolled out new items during the pandemic.
Food, utensils, equipment, and staffing for a 3-hour hot breakfast can't be more than $100 - $200/day. Raise the rates by a buck or two and treat guests to what they expect.
As a traveler, it's frustrating to no end. Hamptons that are 2-3 miles apart will have vastly different breakfast offerings. The meager breakfasts can't solely be blamed on staffing. Parsimonious hotel owners/managers are to blame, too. The Hamptons I frequent are full, and rates are going up. If I'm paying $150/night at a Hampton in a mid-sized city in a low cost of living area, and if the parking lot is full, there is no reason not to have a full hot breakfast. There are Hamptons in Florida that never stopped serving hot breakfasts, some even rolled out new items during the pandemic.
Food, utensils, equipment, and staffing for a 3-hour hot breakfast can't be more than $100 - $200/day. Raise the rates by a buck or two and treat guests to what they expect.
You're right that things can be so different at two different locations just a short distance apart. While they both have the same name on the outside of the building, they are in essence completely unrelated since more than likely they are owned/managed by different companies and are in essence two separate worlds with two separate sets of circumstances and two different viewpoints on how to deal with the things.
The best I can tell you is to hang on for the ride because people on both sides of the front desk have no idea what's coming next as it's being made up on the fly. Six months from now will look like ?? and a year from now will look like ???
#171
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Columbia, SC
Programs: a little here, a little there
Posts: 1,443
As for Hilton family hotels, I've had everything from full, semi-normal buffet at Tru or Hampton, regular buffet (albeit they serve you in clamshell boxes, and no omelets) at Embassy Suites, and at other times places only have pre-packaged goods to grab and go.
#172
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
Programs: IHG Diamond, Delta PM, Hilton Gold, Accor Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 7,256
The Hampton Inn in my Florida suburb is going for $300+ a night for much of the summer because anything closer to the beach is even more at that point. It would seem like they would have the budget to 'overpay' to fully staff the breakfast area with those numbers.
#173
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: ORD, HKG
Programs: UA*G, AA Emerald, HHonors Diamond, Hyatt globalist
Posts: 10,272
It was not a HI, but it may be an indicator for Nashville. When I checked in at a Home2, the front desk clerk said they had just restrarted full breakfast like before. Nashville and five other cities had had more restrictive local rules than the rest of Tennessee, and Nashville was among the strictest.
It's not a HI, but we have reservations at a Homewood Suites in Buffalo over July 4, and I am not expecting to find a similarly meager breakfast as many have found at HIs (especially since NY state says all restrictions won't lift until 70% vaccination rates are reached). Thankfully, family is only 10 minutes away, so we can just have breakfast there.
A block that has a Hilton, DT, ES all next to each other, Hilton is grab and go, DT and ES are full breakfast, a mile away, HI has the full breakfast as well, however another HI that is 3 miles away is grab and go however.
#174
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Falkirk, Scotland,VS Red, BA Gold, HH Diamond,UK Amex Plat
Programs: Master of the Privy Purse des Muccis
Posts: 17,894
Hampton Inn , Dundee Tayside Scotland UK
Hi,
Stayed at the Hampton in Dundee Scotland,
Breakfast was assisted buffet. One way system round the buffet
Cold items: Cereal, yoghurt , fruit
Coffee and OJ self service
Hot items: server served onto a plate your choice of haggis, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs , baked beans. Also handed out toast and croissant on request. Porridge also available.
Needed to make reservations for breakfast .
Overall , very good breakfast.
Regards
TBS
Stayed at the Hampton in Dundee Scotland,
Breakfast was assisted buffet. One way system round the buffet
Cold items: Cereal, yoghurt , fruit
Coffee and OJ self service
Hot items: server served onto a plate your choice of haggis, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs , baked beans. Also handed out toast and croissant on request. Porridge also available.
Needed to make reservations for breakfast .
Overall , very good breakfast.
Regards
TBS