Goodbye, hotel breakfast - the perk is checking out

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and soon, there might not be such a thing as free breakfast either.

To the despair of hotel guests everywhere, the longstanding perk is disappearing as popular hotel chains rethink their offerings and loyalty programs, per Fortune. 

• Hyatt Place, once known for its comped breakfast, is running a pilot program at 40+ US locations that nixes the benefit from its guests. Instead, guests can select room rates that do or don’t include breakfast, or pay for it separately. Though, for Hyatt Globalist loyalty members, the perk still stands.
• Regis Macao, a Marriott Bonvoy brand, cut the free meal for its loyalty members in March, replacing it with bonus points, local offerings, and, for higher-tier members, discounted breakfast. 

While it’s too soon to tell whether these programs will be successful, Zach Demuth, global head of hotels research at JLL, told Fortune, hotels are hoping that replacing breakfast with other perks will boost demand.

Why is breakfast out?

It’s costly for hotels and not much of a draw for travelers, who are increasingly opting to explore local dining — culinary experiences are the second-highest travel budget priority in 2025, after accommodations.

And while the trend is picking up, it isn’t exactly new. The Wall Street Journal noted it in 2021, and businesses beyond hotels — from streamers like Netflix reining in account sharing, and airlines charging for once-free amenities — have similarly been scaling back perks and changing up their own loyalty programs.

But breakfast is still an important meal for hotels…

CBRE research found that hotels that offer complimentary breakfast perform better than those that don’t — and although a growing number of hotels are testing out hospitality sans breakfast, Rachael Rothman, the head of hotels research at CBRE Group, told Fortune that most major brands still offer it.

• Revenue per available room (RevPAR) growth has increased more than 2x for hotels with free breakfast vs. those without it since 2023. 

So, to all of you traveling this summer, enjoy your complimentary morning fuel… while you can. 

Source: The Hustle

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