Notable Examples: Hyatt Place and Industry Trends

Here’s the thing: the more “flexible” the breakfast benefit, the more it feels like a maze—one with surprise charges. “Continental” used to mean value. Now it means, “good luck figuring out what you’re paying for.”

How Hyatt Place Is Influencing Change

So Hyatt Place—just, wow. Forty-ish of their hotels straight-up ditched the free breakfast unless you’re a World of Hyatt elite. Saw a $14 buffet charge with my own eyes. Not a joke. I even checked with the front desk and, honestly, they seemed just as over it as I was.

Analysts keep chanting that free breakfast isn’t going extinct overnight (not gone yet, apparently), but at Hyatt Place, unless you book a “special” rate or flash your elite status, “breakfast included” just vanishes. Suddenly you’re at a cafeteria register, wallet out, wondering if this is still a buffet if nobody’s eating. The brand’s “test” is still dragging on since COVID, per these reports, and honestly, I’m not relaxed about it. Is this what’s coming for every hotel breakfast?

Comparing Major Hotel Brands’ Approaches

Marriott? Total roulette. Some Courtyards toss in breakfast, others act like it’s a rare collectible. Hilton swapped classic breakfast for a “food and beverage credit” in a bunch of U.S. hotels. So now you get a few bucks, not a croissant. One Diamond guest showed me a receipt: free breakfast one day, weird charges the next.

Accor and IHG try to hype their continental spreads as “premium,” but then you get boxed pastries that taste like disappointment. On paper, they’re all about “flexible benefits.” In reality, if you dig through loyalty forums (I’ve wasted hours there), it’s just endless posts griping that skipping prepaid breakfast is a lose-lose—costs more, food’s worse, and perks depend more on how you booked than any actual loyalty. And yeah, dropping free breakfast is absolutely a trend, especially at so-called “budget” chains. They just rebrand it as a premium upsell. No shame.

The Cost Equation: Is Skipping Still Cost-Effective?

Used to be, skipping prepaid breakfast felt like a small win for my wallet. Now? It boomerangs right back with more fees and missing buffet trays. I just want a banana. Why is this so hard?

Evaluating Value for Guests

Looking at an à la carte menu where coffee is $7 and a sad croissant is $5, I’m forced to do math before caffeine. “Pay as you go” breakfast just feels like a trap. Even a Hilton manager told me, “Skip prepaid, you’ll spend more piecemealing it—nobody realizes until that second coffee.” Should I want variety or just surrender to the cheapest combo? I’ve seen buffets at $27 plus tax and forced tip. Meanwhile, the prepaid rate quietly offered at booking is $15. What?

Some hotels (shoutout to OpenStax’s cost breakdowns) claim they factor fixed and variable costs into prepaid plans. But the second I skip it, everything gets pricier, portions shrink, and incentives go poof. Why is a grab-and-go apple triple the price of the fruit stand outside? Nobody can explain. I stopped asking.

When Free or Grab-and-Go Options Disappear

It’s like socks in the dryer—gone. I used to land late and at least find a granola bar or some mystery yogurt by the elevator. Now? Poof. COVID “sanitation” was the excuse, but I never saw a real memo. Last time I scored a grab-and-go bag (dry muffin, boxed juice, no napkin), it was pre-2022. Now it’s just a QR code and a sign: “Order Ahead For Convenience.” Translation: pay more, get less, nothing for folks with allergies.

When I finally cornered staff, they admitted axing free or grab-and-go breakfast was about “repackaging offerings more efficiently.” Sure. That means: funnel guests to the overpriced lobby cafe or let them skip breakfast entirely. The bakery across the street is packed; inside, it’s a ghost town. According to industry flashcards and my own receipts, once “free” breakfast is gone, prices jump, choices shrink, and it’s all in the hotel’s favor. It’s like fake scarcity, and it never actually made my mornings better.

The Impact on Loyalty Programs and Points

Someone tried to convince me that “menu flexibility” is a perk—sure, if by perk you mean paying more for less. Loyalty points used to cover up all these cracks. Now, it’s just people muttering about sad breakfast trays and the slow death of loyalty math.

Shifts in Loyalty Point Earning Structures

What drives me up the wall—brands never stop talking about “rewarding loyalty,” but every Marriott Bonvoy or Southwest update just means points quietly get slashed. “Brand consistency,” they say. Like, cool, thanks for the bag of lettuce.

Points used to matter. Ten stays, free night, breakfast included. Now? Some programs drop elite night credits for those prepaid breakfast rates, so you pay more and earn less. A Hilton exec once told me, “Dynamic pricing maximizes guest value.” Whose value, exactly? I see people hit status and not even notice their “enhancements.”

Everywhere I look, asterisks: qualifying rates, bonus exclusions, ticket types. Even frequent travelers say their points don’t go as far—they’re spending more and being told it’s a privilege. If the rules keep shrinking in the app’s fine print, why even play?

Reward Changes Linked to Prepaid Breakfast

Someone had this idea that prepaid breakfast rates would boost loyalty. In reality, loyalty members now get a “free” breakfast that comes with a reduced-point room and a buffet that’s, at best, underwhelming. Think you’ll get extra value? Nope. Those prepaid rates rarely count for promos, and the points? Sometimes not even half of what you’d get with a standard booking.

Front desk staff are the only ones who’ll tell you straight: “Elite amenity swapped for coffee voucher, but now the muffin’s $12.” I actually overheard that. So, bundled breakfast, less flexibility, fewer points. Revenue managers love their “engagement” stats, but loyalty members get less for something they never wanted in the first place.

Maybe a spreadsheet could make sense of it, but who wants to track rewards on menu eggs versus continental? If “reward” means dry toast and fewer points, I’ll buy my own. Loyalty, at this point, just feels like a marketing gimmick—less about memorable stays, more about squeezing extras out of you.