America’s free hotel breakfast is facing K-shaped economy threat

At some point in the 1980s and 90s, the free hot breakfast became a staple of the hospitality industry. At many a Holiday Inn or Hampton Inn, the lobby at 8 a.m. is a pinwheel of pajama-clad kids, frazzled parents, and solo business travelers jockeying for position in front of the waffle maker. Meanwhile, self-serve cereal bars dispense Froot Loops and Lucky Charms, and hot platters of endless eggs and turkey sausage steam under heat lamps. For many, this breakfast spread is part of the appeal of travel. It endures to this day, but it is facing new economic threats and evolving hotel business models.

At hotels, which have been ditching items like free soaps and even bathroom doors to economize, the free breakfast is a sacred cow that some worry will not survive, increasingly seen by hotel operators as an money pit eating into the thin margins of the business. Last year, Hyatt Hotels‘ Hyatt Place brand removed free breakfast from 40 of its properties. Holiday Inn, owned by IHG, eliminated a la carte breakfast items in favor of a buffet-only model — a cost-cutting measure that preserves the breakfast buffet offering while reducing labor and food waste. 

Gary Leff, who runs the travel blog View from the Wing and first reported on Holiday Inn’s breakfast changes, said that the threat to the free breakfast should be viewed within the broader trend in the lodging industry to look for ways to cut costs for owners. “That goes far beyond breakfasts, to things like housekeeping — less often during a stay, less extensive when it’s done during a stay — to bulk toiletries rather than individual mini-bottles to eliminating products like alarm clocks in rooms,” Leff said.

Despite the free breakfast’s staying power, the math never added up for the business, according to Curtis Crimmins, the CEO and founder of boutique hotel concept Roomza. “It was a loyalty play — a loss leader meant to drive signups, repeat bookings, and extended brand loyalty. I would argue that once free breakfast makes the shift from being a ‘surprise and delight’ endearing moment to an expectation, then its days are numbered,” Crimmins said. “Looking for proof of this slow demise in your average Holiday Inn Express breakfast area? Look no further than the recent explosion of ‘Grab and Go’ options. That’s not a coincidence,” he said. 

Leff says that catering to a more affluent customer, as in the case of Hyatt Hotels, may offer operators more latitude to eliminate breakfast.

A Hyatt spokesperson said while the company has “tested breakfast options at select Hyatt Place hotels that offer guests the ability to book rates that do not include breakfast … Most Hyatt Place hotels in the U.S. continue to offer complimentary breakfast to all guests.”

Evaluations are ongoing. “As part of our ongoing commitment to delivering value to our guests, including World of Hyatt members, we are continually evaluating breakfast options that best serve our guests and our hotels,” the Hyatt spokesperson said.    

Leff says Hyatt has not released data on the trial, and many guests probably just assume breakfast will be free when they book at this point. “Unclear yet whether Hyatt can get away with not doing limited-service breakfast,” he said. 

In the current economy with higher-income consumers leading the spend, luxury has been a bright spot within travel. Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano describes the hotel business right now as being emblematic of the K-shaped economy receiving so much attention. “There are economic headwinds and some uncertainty but we continue to see the consumer prioritizing travel and experiences,” Capuano told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” last week after its most recent earnings. “Luxury was a real highlight for us,” Capuano said, adding that 10 percent of Marriott’s portfolio is in the luxury tier.  

Marriott has made breakfast changes in some overseas luxury locations. For instance, the Regis Macao eliminated free breakfast for Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador loyalty members as of March 2025 and replaced it with bonus points or discounted breakfast instead. Some Reddit users have posted this month about free omelettes disappearing from Marriott breakfast bars and now being part of the paid full breakfast buffet, but a Marriott spokesman said that is not a company-wide policy and, if true, would be individual hotel operators making that decision. 

The majority of travelers expect free breakfast

The consumer split is leading to a bifurcation of breakfast models, with higher-end customers going towards paid eggs benedict and homemade croissants while middle- and lower-income consumers crowd the free buffet.

To be sure, Americans like their hotel breakfast. Among guests who partake of hotel food and beverage during their stay, the vast majority (78%) eat breakfast in the hotel, according to the 2025 JD Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Study. Of that 78 percent, only 8 percent is paid, primarily at upper tier hotels where the trend is taking root. 

Andrea Stokes, hospitality practice lead at JD Power, said that data suggests guests continue to rate breakfast as an important part of their hotel stay. “This proportion is even higher at limited-service upper midscale and midscale hotel brands where complimentary breakfast is typically part of the hotel brand’s standard offering,” Stokes said. 

When JD Power asks upper midscale and midscale hotel guests to rate the importance of hotel features or amenities, about half (47%) rate complimentary breakfast as “need-to-have” (versus only nice-to-have).

Mitchell Murray, CEO of Station House Inn and three other boutique hotels in Lake Tahoe, California, says while large chain hotels can offer economies of scale, free breakfast can account for roughly 5% of total revenue, closer to 6–7% once labor is included. “That’s a meaningful cost, and many operators are asking, ‘Does free breakfast actually generate 5% more revenue or bookings?’ In many cases, the answer is no,” Murray said. He added that when breakfast is free, quality often suffers — think mediocre coffee, watery eggs, frozen potatoes. “It’s edible, but rarely memorable or value-adding,” Murray said. 

One of Murray’s properties is a Holiday Inn Express which he is transitioning to an independent hotel this year and where he plans to do away with the free breakfast after the change, once freed from corporate mandates. Major hotel brand franchisors have specific brand standards that franchisees must adhere to, and this includes food and beverage standards. 

Best Western, though, has no plans to unplug the waffle iron. “Offering a complimentary breakfast is an important part of our guest experience across much of our portfolio,” said the hotel chain’s CEO Larry Cuculic. “For travelers, free breakfast simplifies the stay, delivers meaningful value and influences booking and loyalty decisions, especially in the midscale and upper-midscale segments,” Cuculic said. 

Cuculic says the economics still make sense: breakfast supports guest satisfaction and repeat business, by leveraging the purchasing power of its extensive hotel network, Best Western can help hotels manage costs while maintaining quality and consistency, “making breakfast both a friendly touchpoint for guests and a driver of long-term loyalty,” he said. 

Holiday Inn Express is also standing by the free breakfast bar. “Breakfast plays a critical role in our value proposition and continues to be a major reason why travelers choose to stay with us – it’s something they know, trust, and expect from our brand, “said Justin Alexander, vice president, global brand management for Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites & Candlewood Suites. 

How changes to hotel menu will influence travel planning

Hotel breakfast factors into the travel planning of Aimee Misovich and her family. The Holland, Michigan, resident said that her family are Hilton Honors members. “So we always stay at their properties — typically, Embassy Suites, Homewood or Hampton Inn. All three still offer free hotel breakfasts,” Misovich said, adding that she likes the variety offered. 

“Homewoods began offering overnight oats and chia puddings. I do partake of the latter. Other times I’ll just have a bagel with cream cheese, or a sausage patty inside a bagel for a breakfast sandwich of sorts,” Misovich said. While she added that the quality can vary from property to property, the breakfasts are still appealing. 

“I certainly hope Hilton keeps their free breakfasts! After all, they’re not really ‘free’—I’m sure they’re factored somehow into room prices,” Misovich said. She also noted that foods she eats at hotel breakfasts are rarely ones she eats at home, “so they’re a treat to me when we travel.” 

The food and beverage offering, even if only for breakfast service, can be a key differentiator for limited-service hotel brands. “Any hotels that consider scaling back or eliminating free breakfast must focus on demonstrating value in other ways,” Stokes said. 

Rita Chaddad, a faculty member who teaches courses on tourism and hospitality management at Columbia Southern University, predicts that free breakfast will continue to be eliminated in the luxury brands but remain in some form elsewhere, though travelers should expect more changes to come. 

“Breakfast is likely to remain, but the model may become more segmented,” Chaddad said. In upper-midscale settings, hotels may be more willing to offer breakfast through credits, optional add-ons, or targeted inclusion — for example, through packages or loyalty benefits. “In these tiers, hotels may have more flexibility to replace ‘free’ with perceived value in other forms, provided it is communicated well and the guest feels the trade-off is fair,” Chaddad said. 

But she added that many of the middle-tier hotels compete on simple, visible value, and breakfast is one of the clearest signals of that value, so there is risk of backlash if it is completely eliminated. “Removing it can create a perceived loss that may outweigh operational savings, even if the hotel’s overall cost structure improves behind the scenes. For value-oriented travelers, breakfast is often interpreted as part of the ‘deal,’ and losing it can complicate the guest’s mental math when comparing properties,” Chaddad said. 

Chaddad said hotels will increasingly play with the offering, and beyond higher-tier hotels, travelers should be on the lookout for new models showing up as room-only versus breakfast-included choices, breakfast offered through packages or loyalty benefits, or other redesigned formats that control costs while keeping the benefit visible to guests. “The shift may be less about eliminating breakfast and more about adjusting who receives it, how it is delivered, and how clearly it is priced or bundled,” she said.

While some of those changes may add to the hotel bottom line, they could come with an added emotional cost. “My kids and I would be really sad if they discontinue free hotel breakfasts. It’s part of the fun of traveling,” said East Tennessee resident Joanne Peterson.