Free breakfast most requested thing by biz travelers...
 

...edging out free i-net this year, although free i-net is listed #1 once within room. Guess I'll be keeping the exec lounge sticky going!

http://www.business-standard.com/art...1300195_1.html

Cheers.

Hopefully Courtyard sees this ...

They won't care. I vote with my wallet, and only stay at a CY when it's the only Marriott brand option where I need to be or there is a very significant price difference. Even then, I never use the microwave, stand in a long line cafe, um Bistro. Funny thing is, CY manages to continue on without my business, and I manage just fine mostly staying at FS/Ren and SHS/FIs.

Free breakfast most requested thing by biz travelers...
 

I don't get it... mist biz travellers are on expenses account. why would they care about a usually mediocre free breakfast? I could understand if you are on holiday with wife and two kids to pay for, but when I'm on the road the hotel is the last place I want to eat.

You sure most biz travellers are on expenses account? What statistics is this based on?

Around here the norm is to get a certain fixed tax-free amount per day, aka per diem, no matter what you spend it on (or if you spend it on anything at all or just pocket it). I sure prefer "free" breakfast at the hotel instead of using part of that extra money to buy a breakfast.

Free breakfast most requested thing by biz travelers...
 

When I do stay at CY and get a survey I am sure to give low points for Plat recognition. Complaints to CS don't seem to get traction but hopefully individual properties will see this as a cheap way to improve scores that do get monitored.

Local GMs do read the comments or question low scores from Elites as I often get emails asking for more detail on service failures.

Per diem at my last job and husband's current.

Unlimited expenses account in the 90's and up to the recession. Mostly fixed expenses now. Anything that adds to the cost is now unwelcome as it eats into the (also fixed) subsistence allowance. Hence free breakfast, free parking and free I-net are important considerations.

It seems strange to me that the massive (in USA) Courtyard brand and (EU) AC brand both don't do free breakfasts. In the EU this has cost AC business since for a recent stay I chose the Ren over an equally convenient AC because when I factored in the free breakfast the Ren turned out (fractionally) cheaper. Equally when I have business in the Crawley area I ALWAYS choose the Lingfield Marriott over the Gatwick Courtyard on the same maths.

The last two companies I have worked at and heard about from friends hVe all dropped per diem. We get a maximum amount depending on what meal it is but if I don't spend the max I don't get to keep the balance of the amount. I assumed most places did this these days.

I'm on an expense report. If I spend more than a certain amount per person on a meal, it needs to be approved. The few times I've exceeded the amount it's been approved without question, so the issue isn't cost. It's convenience. Who has the time to wait in line behind several other people followed by sitting at a table until your choice has been microwaved and is brought to your seat? Your stuck with the options on the menu, which is always either more or less than what you want.

Give me a CL or a cheap free breakfast buffet where I can run in, grab what I want, quickly eat and be done with breakfast. I'm in hotels 150 or so nights a year. Who wants to spend 20 minutes a day - or 3,000 minutes annually, on what can be done in five minutes, or 750 minutes annually?

Every additional line item on my expense report = my time, even if my company pays for it. Free breakfast = one less line item on my expense report, and one less receipt to potentially lose.

Agreed. While expenses can play into it, having the luxury to just swing by and grab something quick and easy on your way out the door is a key factor as to why I opt for places with a free breakfast buffet. No need to spend time waiting for a waitress, ordering, waiting for food, and then settling up the check. I generally eat cereal or a bagel on a normal workday at home (both of which are readily available at a buffet) so this is all I really need on the road to replicate my normal routine.

I don't need to keep receipts, but it's still a hassle not to have free breakfast.

I've traveled a lot under both systems (keep all receipts vs. flat per diem). Either way, I hate paying for breakfast.

Part of it is that it's just annoying. Another part is that many hotels offer no reasonably-priced middle option. If typical street value for a breakfast in a given city is, say, five bucks, then my choices at the hotel will be $0 (don't eat) or a $25 buffet.

The whole breakfast situation irks me slightly less if you can get the middle-ground via a Starbucks in the lobby or nearby. But not much...at the end of the day, if I have a viable choice between Courtyard and another brand, I'm booking the other brand. And if I *do* have to stay at a Courtyard, I'm going to do whatever I can to avoid spending a dime in the hotel. If I was at a CY that had the Bistro with the small items...and they allowed me to earn points on the spending...I might be tempted. (Might...)

It's kind of a shame considering there are some good newer Courtyard properties in the system.

It still baffles me they won't have a continental breakfast offering in one of the conference rooms or the in-house restaurant. Is it that hard/expensive to offer danishes and croissants while upping room rates $5 for everyone (elite and non-elite) accross the board?