Travelers agree: give us free breakfast or else
Approximately one-half of hotel guests, whether vacationing or on a business trip, expect a free breakfast as part of their room rate, according to a new study from YPB&R.
As part of their hotel selection decision-making process, almost half of leisure travelers and just over more than half of business travelers feel getting a free breakfast is very or extremely influential, said the survey by the international advertising agency specializing in travel and leisure clients.
Business travelers’ attitudes toward free breakfast are even more pronounced in measuring hotel pricing and value. More than three in five business travelers (65%) surveyed find a hotel or motel that provides a complimentary breakfast included with the hotel’s nightly room rate very or extremely desirable.
The data is from the soon-to-be-released 2007 YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners National Leisure Travel Monitor and its business counterpart, the YPB&R/Yankelovich Partners National Business Travel Monitor. The survey also indicates:
• Seven out of ten leisure travelers enjoy trying new dishes and foods when they go out to lunch or dinner during a trip. Three-quarters of business travelers — perhaps reflecting their ability to use an expense account when dining out — say they enjoy trying new dishes and foods during a business trip. “Leisure and business travelers are telling us they are in a more experimental mood when it comes to dining out during a trip,” said Dennis Marzella of YPB&R.
• More than one-half of business travelers say they prefer to dine in restaurants outside the hotel in which they are staying. “This suggests an excellent opportunity for full-service lodging establishments to increase their share of food & beverage spending by developing more imaginative restaurant concepts,” Mr Marzella said.
• Confusion reigns about nutritional information available these days. Leisure travelers (70%) and business travelers (64%) are in almost perfect agreement in responding that they are confused about what one should or should not eat.
Still, roughly two-thirds of leisure travelers expect to make more of an effort to eat better and live a healthier lifestyle this year.
“Expect traveling consumers to be receptive to more healthful, upscale casual-dining establishments like the Seasons 52 restaurant concept launched by Darden Restaurants in the past few years,” Mr Marzella noted.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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