Free hotel breakfast is no longer a safe "standard": why it is disappearing and what it means for travelers
Once, a free breakfast was one of the most recognizable items of a hotel's offer: a simple signal that the guest gets at least one meal included in the price, and the hotel gains an important competitive advantage. However, in the last few years, and especially during 2025 and early 2026, large hotel systems are increasingly shifting breakfast from the "included" category to the "option" category. The change is not happening abruptly, with big announcements, but quietly – through pilot programs, more finely formulated loyalty program terms, and an increasingly widespread practice of linking breakfast to a specific rate, status, or specific location.
In practice, this means that a traveler who for years took the morning buffet in mid-range hotels for granted is now increasingly encountering a choice: a lower room price without breakfast or a higher price with breakfast. In the luxury segment, where elite benefits of loyalty programs have for years included breakfast as the most valuable "quiet" perk, hoteliers are testing how far they can go in replacing breakfast with points, food and beverage credits, or discounts. The trend has broader consequences: from spending in the destination, through tourist competitiveness, to issues of sustainability and food waste.
How big brands started "unbundling" breakfast from the overnight stay
One of the most concrete examples comes from Hyatt's portfolio. According to Fortune reporting, the selection brand Hyatt Place – which was long synonymous with included breakfast – introduced a pilot program at more than 40 properties in the US in which free breakfast is no longer automatically offered to all guests. Instead, different rates are offered at those locations: some with breakfast included, some without, and guests can pay extra for breakfast if they wish. Fortune also states that Hyatt's website began communicating the wording "free breakfast at most hotels," which is a subtle but important departure from the earlier perception that breakfast is part of the brand standard.
Such a model gives hotels greater pricing flexibility. In a segment where rooms are sold in large quantities and with relatively thin margins, breakfast is a cost that varies with the number of guests, grocery prices, and labor. When breakfast is sold as an add-on, the hotel can more aggressively offer a lower starting room price, and compensate for the revenue through the "attach rate" – the percentage of guests who will still buy breakfast.
Marriott and "rules on paper," and practice from hotel to hotel
Another example shows how change is also happening through loyalty programs. Marriott Bonvoy has one of the most complex structures for breakfast benefits: it depends on the brand, status level, and often on whether the guest chooses breakfast as a "welcome amenity" instead of points or another perk. Analyses summarizing the rules state that Platinum and higher statuses should generally receive lounge access, breakfast, or a food and beverage credit in most brands, but there are exceptions and differences between brands.
The case of the St. Regis Macao hotel further raised eyebrows: from March 1, 2025, that hotel stopped offering free breakfast to Marriott's Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador members as a standard benefit, replacing it with other options such as points or a local gift and the possibility of breakfast at a discounted price. This change was reported by specialized portals that monitor loyalty programs and available notifications on Marriott's channels. Although it is a single location, the message is broader: even where the program formally provides for certain benefits, the hotel – especially in the luxury segment – can seek a way to redefine them through local rules, restrictions, and "substitutions."
Hilton's replacement: instead of breakfast – a food and beverage credit
Hilton previously made a move in the US that is often cited today as a precursor to a wider trend: for Gold and Diamond members, at many American locations, free breakfast has been replaced by a daily food and beverage credit. A guest can use such a credit for breakfast, but also for something else during the day – however, the amount often does not cover the actual cost of breakfast, especially in more expensive cities and hotels with higher restaurant prices. Expert guides explain that the benefit differs by market and that outside the US, Hilton still more often offers a classic breakfast, while in the US, credit has become a common form of benefit.
For hoteliers, credit is administratively simpler and more predictable: instead of the open cost of a buffet, the benefit becomes a fixed amount per person, up to a certain number of registered guests. For the traveler, however, it is also a risk: "free breakfast" as a mental calculation disappears, and instead, a credit is received that may be insufficient or require additional payment.
Why is this happening: costs, guest habits, and new hotel mathematics
The reasons overlap, but three are particularly important: prices, labor, and change in demand.
First, inflation and the volatility of food prices directly hit the buffet. Breakfast in a hotel is not just the cost of groceries; it is also logistics, storage, standardization, hygiene, and the constant availability of staff. Second, after the pandemic and in a tight labor market, hotels in many countries are recording higher labor costs and finding it harder to find staff for early shifts. Third, a portion of guests increasingly skip breakfast, travel faster, or work hybridly – so breakfast is no longer a universally used perk.
Hoteliers are therefore testing segmentation: let the one who actually uses it pay for breakfast, and let others get a lower room price. This is the classic logic of "unbundling" – separating services – which has been present in air traffic for decades and is now more clearly spilling over into the hotel industry.
What market analysis says: breakfast as a competitive advantage, but also a cost
Interestingly, the trend of cutting perks is happening in parallel with data showing that breakfast can be a business advantage. A CBRE report on hotel brand performance states that mid-segment brands that offer free breakfast have an occupancy rate 2 to 3 percentage points higher than those that do not, and that they achieved more than double the growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in the observed periods. In other words, breakfast can still be a strong differentiator – but hotels are trying to achieve the same business benefit without taking on unlimited costs.
In practice, this could mean that part of the market will polarize further. "Upper-midscale" and family-oriented brands may keep breakfast as a bait for occupancy, while urban hotels in strong destinations will increasingly offer breakfast as a paid option, counting on the fact that guests will go out into the city anyway.
How the change is seen on the bill: "cheaper room," more expensive stay
For the traveler, new rules often look like this: the advertised room price is lower, but during the booking process, "add-ons" appear – breakfast, parking, late check-out, drink credit, and even different types of lounge access. On paper, it offers choice. In reality, comparison becomes harder because two room prices are no longer comparable if one includes breakfast and the other does not.
The issue of transparency stands out here particularly. When a brand that has been tied to breakfast for years changes its practice only at part of its locations, the guest can no longer count on the "brand rule," but must read the terms of the specific hotel. When traveling with a family, this is especially important: paying extra for breakfast for multiple people can quickly exceed the difference between a "favorable" and an "expensive" option.
Impact on loyalty programs: the benefit moves to the "fine print"
Loyalty programs play a special role because for years they built the promise that status "pays off" precisely through daily perks like breakfast. World of Hyatt, for example, still states on its official benefits page that Globalist members receive lounge access or breakfast when a lounge is not available, with a note that benefits vary by property and apply under certain conditions. But at the same time, changes in terms can narrow down what exactly is considered "breakfast" – from a full buffet to limited "grab-and-go" options at individual brands and locations, as shown by updates to terms followed by specialized media.
With Marriott, the situation is even more complex because breakfast often appears as a choice, not as an automatic benefit, and individual hotels can change their practice. At Hilton, the credit logic makes the benefit flexible, but also less predictable. The result is that the value of status must increasingly be calculated "from stay to stay," and not as a universal promise.
Broader effects: tourism, local consumption, and sustainability
The change around breakfast is not just a matter of a small hotel perk. It also has broader implications.
First, it affects the local economy. If the hotel does not offer breakfast or the guest does not want to pay for it, there is a higher chance they will have breakfast in a cafe or bakery in town. For destinations that have a strong morning offer, this can be a plus. But in resorts and less developed areas, where choice is limited, it can reduce the quality of the experience and increase guest frustration.
Second, there is also a dimension of sustainability. A hotel buffet often means wasting food, especially when it must be kept visually "full" until the last guest. Reducing the buffet or switching to ordering can reduce waste. But at the same time, "grab-and-go" models sometimes increase packaging waste. Hotels will, if the trend continues, have to find a balance between cost control, guest satisfaction, and environmental goals.
Third, there is the issue of brand competitiveness. If CBRE's analysis shows that breakfast helps occupancy and RevPAR, those who cut it must compensate for the value with something else: better locations, stronger loyalty programs, higher quality content, or more aggressive prices.
What travelers can do: check before booking and a realistic price comparison
For guests who want to avoid unpleasant surprises, several practical steps have become almost necessary.
First, before booking, one should check exactly what the selected rate includes. "Bed & Breakfast" is no longer a synonym for "standard," but a special option.
Second, for loyalty programs, check if the breakfast benefit applies in the specific brand and country, and whether it is a breakfast, lounge, or credit.
Third, it is important to compare the total price of the stay, and not just the room price per night: surcharges add up, and breakfast is often the largest item among them.
In destinations with a rich local offer, giving up the hotel breakfast can also be an opportunity – some travelers would rather spend the morning in the city. But for family trips, early departures, or business itineraries, breakfast in the hotel can still be a key part of the logistics.
Will free breakfast be completely withdrawn?
According to available information, it is unlikely that free breakfast will disappear everywhere and for everyone. A more likely scenario is one in which breakfast will further "stratify": some brands will still offer it as a standard perk to keep families and value-sensitive travelers, while others will turn breakfast into an option or a status benefit.
In that sense, hotel breakfast is becoming what checked baggage has become in aviation: something that was once taken for granted, and is now subject to choice, extra charge, and a detailed reading of the terms. For guests, this means more planning and less automatism, and for hotels, a finer pricing and benefit strategy. Those who implement the change transparently and with clear value will profit the most – because a morning meal may no longer be "gratis," but it can still be a decisive reason why a guest returns.
Sources:- Fortune – about the pilot program at more than 40 Hyatt Place hotels in the US and the change in rate models (link)- CBRE – Hotel Brand Performance 2025, part on the effect of free breakfast on occupancy and RevPAR (link)- World of Hyatt – official overview of program tiers and benefits (link)- Marriott – official Marriott Bonvoy program terms (link)- One Mile at a Time – analysis of the breakfast change at St. Regis Macao from March 1, 2025 (link)- NerdWallet – explanation of Hilton's daily food and beverage credit as a replacement for breakfast in the US (link)- Hilton – official Hilton Honors program terms (link)
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