You are searching for a room in which to stay while you are traveling; and you find a hotel property which interests you: perhaps its location is convenient; or maybe it offers amenities which appeal to you…
…and then you find two room rates which are identical in every way — except one includes breakfast at a more expensive rate.
With which room rate should you book your reservation?
Stupid Tip of the Day: 7 Factors When Considering Hotel Room Rates Which Include Breakfast
The outright answer to that question is that it depends on the circumstances; so let us take a closer look using a random example.
The Crowne Plaza Barcelona – Fira Center hotel property in Spain offers two room rates called YOUR RATE by IHG® Rewards Club Advance Purchase and YOUR RATE by IHG® Rewards Club Advance Purchase with Breakfast. For both room rates, the deposit for which you paid when booking your reservation at least seven days in advance cannot be refunded once it is booked; and every other aspect of both room rates is identical — except for the price:
The room rate without breakfast is €302.40 plus tax for one night when checking in on Wednesday, October 4, 2017; while the room rate with breakfast is €325.44 plus tax for that same night. Is breakfast worth the difference of €23.04 plus tax? For me, the answer would be no…
…but take another look at the screen shot shown above. The room rates for two people in one room under one reservation is exactly the same as with one person — meaning that the rate which includes breakfast would cost an additional €11.52 plus tax per person instead of €23.04 plus tax, which is significantly more reasonable.
Summary
Unless you happen to be traveling on business with which your expense account permits you to purchase a room rate with breakfast — I know some people who do that and add to their expense reports that they paid for breakfast when they actually did not — whether or not the room rate with breakfast included is worth considering depends on several factors:
- How many guests can stay in the same room without the room rate increasing, as that varies by hotel or resort property as well as by geography
- What is the cost of breakfast if you were to purchase it separately within the hotel — either in a restaurant or via room service
- What is included in the breakfast room rate — for example, an unlimited buffet is certainly worth significantly more than a continental breakfast; and some room rates which include breakfast do not include room service as an option
- How much would you typically spend on breakfast in the morning while traveling
- Would you be entitled to breakfast anyway at the regular rate which does not include breakfast — for example, if you have earned elite level status with some frequent guest loyalty programs such as Hilton Honors and have chosen breakfast as an option
- Will you have access to an executive lounge in the morning which offers breakfast — and what is specifically offered at breakfast
- Will you even be around to enjoy breakfast — as an example, a flight which departs at 5:45 in the morning almost certainly guarantees that you will be long gone before breakfast is offered anywhere in the hotel or resort property
Photograph ©2017 by Brian Cohen.
